Little Steps
by Heather68
Summary: COMPLETE. A potions accident turns our middle aged potions master into a baby. Now, Harry is expected to look after young Severus until the potion wears off.
1. Potions Incident

Summary: A potions accident turns our middle aged potions master into a baby. Now, Harry is expected to look after young Severus until the potion wears off. Chap. 1: Two years old  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing and nothing owns me. YAY!  
  
A/N: Yes I know that this type of story is so overdone. But, not for this ship as far as I know No one's become a baby in this ship ever. However, that's to my knowledge which might not be accurate. Anyhow I figured I should write this fic so almost every ship has one. This one was looking neglected, in the de-aging potion department. I hope you like!  
  
"Mr. Potter, will you please pay attention?" snapped Professor Mcgonagall. Harry looked up slowly meeting his professor's disapproving glare. "Now, what has you so distracted?"  
  
Harry was about to make up a lame excuse as too where his attention had been drifting, and he hadn't liked where it was heading, when the door to the class opened and a first year Hufflepuff poked her head through the door.  
  
"Excuse me Professor Mcgonagall, but Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak to Harry." The girl said timidly.  
  
"Very well, you heard Miss Connely, Mr. Potter, go see Professor Dumbledore."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am." Said Harry gathering his books in his hand and leaving the classroom. He walked at a steady pace down the corridors and finally arrived at the gargoyle and muttered the password and breezed up the steps and through the doors. He sat down in a chair and waited for the headmaster to arrive. He looked around and smiled at a few of the portraits who had been trying to catch his attention.  
  
Dumbledore entered the room and caught Harry deep in thought. He rested his hand on the younger mans shoulder causing him to jump out of his seat and turn to face him.  
  
"Harry, my dear boy, how are you?" asked Dumbledore, sitting down behind his desk.  
  
"Fine, sir." He responded. His gaze resting on Fawkes who flew over and landed on his lap. Harry smiled and stroked the birds feathers smiling.  
  
"Lemon drop?" offered Dumbledore. Harry shook his head no. Dumbledore shrugged and popped one of the candies into his mouth.  
  
"Sir, what was so important that you had to pull me out of transfiguration?" Harry finally asked wanting to leave the office as fast as possible.  
  
"Ah Harry, are you aware that you are indeed a very perceptive young man."  
  
"Well, no one's ever come out and said it before but I suppose it's possible," said Harry, who continued to absentmindedly stroke Fawkes. Dumbledore grinned, his eyes twinkling. Harry groaned inwardly it was never a good thing when Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Never.  
  
"Oh but you are. You see I have a small task I would appreciate if you would perform." Dumbledore stated.  
  
"What is it?" questioned Harry, getting the distinct impression that whatever he was about to be asked wasn't going to be fun.  
  
"Would you follow me please?" Harry nodded and followed the headmaster out of his office and started down towards the hospital wing, a place he hadn't been to in about 4 months which happened to be a record.  
  
As they drew closer to the wing the piercing cry of a baby wailing cut through the air. Harry looked up at Dumbledore a mixture of curiosity and concern etched in his features.  
  
"Sir, what's going on?" Harry asked again. Dumbledore smiled and shushed him.  
  
"You'll see." He reassured him. Harry nodded again and continued on till they reached the doors to the hospital wing. "Wait here."  
  
Harry watched as Dumbledore entered leaving the door ajar. Harry tried to resist leaning closer to the door to hear what was going on. Nevertheless, after a few seconds his restraint snapped and he quickly leaned against the door hoping to hear something and hear something he did.  
  
Dumbledore seemed to be coaxing someone to follow him. " Come on, Harry's here. Come on."  
  
"Har-wy?" A little voice questioned, the older man.  
  
"Yes, come along now." Answered Dumbledore, his voice closer to the door then Harry had anticipated. He quickly jumped out of the way right before the doors opened and a small black haired black eyed two year old boy came out of the door a huge smile plastered all over his face, with Dumbledore close behind.  
  
"Har-wy!" He shouted with glee, toddling over to the stunned 7th year. He stopped right in front of him and looked up and effectively fell on his bottom then started crying. The crying pierced through Harry's foggy mind and he bent over and picked up the small child and tried to make him calm down.  
  
"Professor, I don't understand who-"  
  
"Harry, I'm sure you know Severus Snape."  
  
Harry gasped and looked down at the two year old who was currently playing with the clasp of his robe and giggling as the clasp came undone. "Not to be rude, but are you sure this is Snape?"  
  
"Severus, Harry, and yes I'm sure." Dumbledore answered calmly, smiling at the child Harry was holding.  
  
"How?" asked Harry.  
  
"That, Harry, is a story best saved for my office, follow me." Harry sighed but followed anyway. Shifting Severus onto his other hip. Severus looked up at Harry grinning. Harry rolled his eyes as he saw the toddlers smile but grinned. As they approached Dumbledore's office Ron and Hermione came running down the corridor. Harry turned and grinned at his friends.  
  
"Harry! Harry you'll never believe what everyone's saying. They're saying that Professor Snape was splashed with a de-aging potion and is now only two." said Ron enthusiastically, finally stopping to catch his breath he noticed the little boy in Harry's arms. "Who's that?"  
  
"Ron," Harry said apprehensively, "this is Snape." Harry said, Ron seemed to be at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing looking between Harry and Hermione. Hermione rolled her eyes and pinched Ron in the arm. He yelped and glared angrily at his girlfriend.  
  
"So they weren't just rumors." She said. Harry nodded, shifting Severus again. Severus looked between Harry and Hermione confused and waiting to see who this new person was.  
  
"Nope they weren't just rumors." He answered. A look of comprehension flashed across Ron's face shortly followed by suspicion.  
  
"Har-wy, who she?" Severus asked pointing at Hermione. Harry looked at Hermione and flashed her a quick grin.  
  
Hermione smiled kindly. "My name's Hermione, I'm Harry's best friend."  
  
"Har-wy." Severus said quietly tugging on Harry's sleeve to get his attention, "Har-wy!" he hissed, tugging on the sleeve harder. Harry put Severus down and kneeled so they were the same height.  
  
"Yea?" asked Harry in a whisper playing along with all the secrecy. Severus leaned over into Harry's ear.  
  
"I likes her." He giggled and snuggled into Harry's shoulder putting his little arms around his neck. Harry picked him up laughing.  
  
"Hey Mione you have a fan." He said chuckling.  
  
"Apparently," She said brightly trying not to laugh. "Professor Dumbledore, what happened?" she asked suddenly very serious.  
  
"I was just about to tell Harry here before you two showed up and now I suppose I'll have to tell you two as well," he paused, "As a matter of fact I think it would be much better if I just told you three at the same time. Yes, very good indeed. Considering you two will undoubtedly will play a part in all of this."  
  
He ushered the students into his office and shut the door behind him.  
  
Hermione and Ron took the chairs leaving Harry to the floor. Not that Harry minded all that much as a matter of fact he wasn't even paying attention to the fact that he was sitting on the floor with a two year old leaning against his chest asleep.  
  
"Professor, what exactly happened?" he asked. "And how am I involved with all of this?"  
  
"During this mornings first year potions class between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, a young Hufflepuff that shall remain anonymous, accidentally blew up her potion and it splattered all over Professor Snape. Only a few minutes after the explosion did they find Severus here screaming on the floor of the dungeons calling for you."  
  
"Calling, sir?"  
  
"Well it was more of a howl but yes calling out for you."  
  
Harry looked down at the little boy in his arms. "Really?"  
  
"Yes, Harry. Now what I'm about to ask of you isn't going to be easy and you'll resist it at first."  
  
"What is it?" he asked tiredly, playing with Severus' hair.  
  
"I'm entrusting you with this child that you're holding."  
  
"Wait what?" Ron said before Harry could say anything. "What do you mean, will he like have to keep him."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Oh." Hermione said finally joining the conversation. "But sir, exactly how does this potion work?"  
  
"I'm glad you asked, Miss Granger. You see this potion is difficult to make on a normal basis, but since this potion was made by accident, I have no definite answer as to when it will wear off exactly, but I have a rough estimate. This potion will last for about 3 weeks, maybe longer, possibly shorter."  
  
Harry was listening intently and finally heard what he'd been waiting for. "Harry, there is one more thing you will need to know, young Severus here will grow one year every two days for the first week or so. He will stop growing at 5 years."  
  
"Why five, sir?" Questioned Hermione.  
  
"That I don't know, that is what Madame Pomfrey told me, so I'm telling you. And, since I've left him in Harry's care, I expect that you two will end up helping. Am I right?"  
  
"Yes, sir, they'll help." Harry said for them before they could form any means of protest.  
  
A/N: Awwwwwwwwwwwwww! Got to love a baby Severus. He's too cute. I'm aware that he seems out of character, but this is way before Snape could possibly become surly. Please Review! 


	2. Age 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. But I make up there weird personalities!  
  
A/N: Woot! This was a record amount of reviews for a single chapter for me ever! YAY! I'm thanking you from the pit of my soul. ;)  
  
Oooooooooo, this is weird I didn't even get half the things in this chapter that I wanted to so they'll end up in the next chapter. Much scariness.  
  
So I'd like to thank:  
  
ankhangel88: I don't know anyone who can't resist a baby Severus.  
  
KittenBabyGirl: Thank you!  
  
Andromeda Snape-Malfoy: If you have a suggestion for a better summary I'd like to hear it because I stink at writing them.  
  
Ryo: I have a live journal that I've been neglecting because no one says anything to me and I'll prolly post cookies and the like up there if I get more response!  
  
Kears: I think you misunderstood something. Snape will return to his original age after 3 weeks, just the de-aging potion only allows him to reach 5 before he goes back to being middle age. I hope that clears things up.  
  
sb4rl: Thank you! (  
  
Vekura: Ahhhh theres a reason for the romance genre that won't really appear until much later in the story  
  
Erica: Continuing...continuing....  
  
Chibidaima: Of course I'm writing more of this why wouldn't I?  
  
Toria: hehehehe of course Harry spoke for his friends. He knows Ron too well. Hope you enjoy this next chapter.  
  
Slytheretta: Thank you! I'm surprised at the lack of lil Sev stories myself.  
  
Spacecatdet: Yea, there aren't enough. That's why I wrote one! And only Snape knows why he called for Harry. I blame it on to much time thinking about how much he 'hates' him.  
  
Garner: Everyone should like a baby Sev! Hope you like this next chapter.  
  
Sweet-single: Why thank you ^_^  
  
*********  
  
~* Previously *~  
  
"That I don't know, that is what Madame Pomfrey told me, so I'm telling you. And, since I've left him in Harry's care, I expect that you two will end up helping. Am I right?"  
  
"Yes, sir, they'll help." Harry said for them before they could form any means of protest.  
  
*************  
  
Ron stared at Harry in shock.  
  
"We are?" He asked. Harry gave him a strange look, before nodding in the affirmative. "But Harry-"  
  
"Ron," said Hermione sharply. Ron looked abashed and turned away. "Let's go."  
  
Ron nodded and muttered 'sorry' before taking off.  
  
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and silently observed the exchange between friends before speaking.  
  
"Miss Granger, may I have a word with you before you leave?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Hermione sat down in one of the chairs. Harry stood up, lifting Severus into his arms, then sat in the other unoccupied chair.  
  
"As you are both now well aware, we are in dire need of a person to teach potions."  
  
They both nodded. Harry stroked the little boys hair absentmindedly. He felt Severus shift on his lap and looked down where he was met by a pair of black eyes staring back at him curiously. Severus turned his head and saw Dumbledore and giggled, before burying his head in Harry's robes. Hermione chuckled softly at the little boys antics. He turned his head and stared at Hermione intently. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it.  
  
Cautiously, Severus reached out with his spare hand towards Hermione. He started to wiggle around on Harry's lap trying to get down. Harry held on tightly to the squirming two year old as he carefully lowered him to the ground. Severus smiled at Harry, then ran over to Hermione. He placed his hands on her lap and looked up at her expectantly. She smiled and lifted him onto her lap. He giggled delightedly.  
  
Harry looked at the headmaster. Dumbledore gave Harry a quick wink. Harry smirked and slouched in his chair. Looking over at Hermione to see if she was ready he said, "You were saying, Professor?"  
  
"Oh yes," said Dumbledore, "I'd like to offer you the position, Hermione. Of course there will be some help especially when it comes to the Slytherins."  
  
"Who?" Hermione asked in confusion.  
  
Dumbledore regarded her over his half-moon spectacles. "I was thinking young Mr. Malfoy, if that wouldn't be a problem."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Good., that's very good indeed, That will be all for now Miss Granger."  
  
"Yes, sir. See you later, Harry," said Hermione depositing Severus back into Harry's care. Harry took him and nodded bye to Hermione.  
  
Severus waved his hand and said, "Bye-bye, Mina."  
  
Hermione ruffled his hair, earning a grin, then left the office. Harry once again turned his attention back on the headmaster. He felt Severus shiver slightly. He started to rub Severus' arms to warm up the little bot and he caught a glimpse of bear flesh on his forearm.  
  
"Sir?" Harry asked tentatively. "The mark."  
  
"What about the mark?"  
  
"It's not there anymore."  
  
"No it wouldn't be would it. You see, Harry, Severus' wouldn't have the scar yet, for he's too young."  
  
"Does that mean he can't be summoned?"  
  
"No I'm afraid he can still be summoned. Harry, the Dark Lord marks his followers in more ways then just the mark."  
  
"How?"  
  
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his eyelids, before locking his gaze with a portrait of a former headmaster that was staring intently at the conversation that was happening. After seeing the woman in the portrait nod at him he returned his gaze to the younger man who was sitting in front of him.  
  
"Harry, no one truly knows all the spells charms and incantations that were performed over that mark. Even though the mark is gone doesn't mean anything. Voldemort thought it necessary to bind each of his inner circle's souls to his." Harry's eyes widened. "The only way for that bond to break would be if someone of equal power broke its connection and connected the others soul to his or hers or if one or the other dies."  
  
"Bound?" said Harry meekly. He unintentionally hugged the little boy in his lap closer. "So," he remarked offhandedly, "No pressure, right?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled at the sarcastic comment. "No, no pressure at all."  
  
Harry slumped down into his chair and frowned. Severus gazed up at Harry, concern and curiosity reflecting in his eyes.  
  
"Har-wy?" He asked, tears forming in his eyes and gliding down his cheeks. Harry gave the little boy a weak grin then wiped his face with a tissue from his pocket.  
  
"It's alright." Harry said trying to get Severus to stop crying. "What would you like?"  
  
Severus' eyes got big , he sniffled slightly, then stopped crying all together. "Stwicor." He stated firmly turning his puppy dog eyes onto Harry. Harry shook his head in confusion. "Stwicor!" Snape said loudly pointing at the crest on Harry's robe.  
  
"Oh," said Harry in understanding. "You want a sticker. Well, I don't have one. Let's ask Professor Dumbledore if he has one."  
  
Severus immediately turned his sad stare at Dumbledore. "Stwicor." He demanded. Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Pwease." He added as an afterthought.  
  
Harry looked Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled and conjured one and handed it to Harry, who stuck it on Severus' shirt. Severus smiled happily and took it off his shirt to examine it.  
  
"Sir, before we drift to off topic, has Voldemort called for a meeting recently." Harry asked hoping the answer would be yes.  
  
"Unfortunately, no, he hasn't and Severus had just come to me the day before voicing his concern about it."  
  
"I see," Adopting a far off look, he gazed at Fawkes who was preening himself on his perch. Mulling things over in his mind, Harry could only think of one thing. "But what if he does?" asked Harry in concern, "We can't have a toddler go to him. It would be suicide and Voldemort's not a very kind person when it comes to not answering his summons. I mean he can almost kill people through the mark."  
  
"I know these things only too well. Harry there are other reasons why I put him in your care other then the fact that he doesn't like to be around anyone else for too long. This was one of them. You know from personal experience what it's like to suffer immense pain, there will be a charm that I'm going to place over you two before you leave this office."  
  
"Sir?" asked Harry hesitantly.  
  
"It will transfer some of the pain that he will be feeling tenfold onto you. Harry you being older means you can withstand more pain. Being only a toddler everything that Voldemort does to him will feel ten times worse then it ever has."  
  
Harry gulped audibly and squeezed Severus in reassurance. "Whatever it takes, sir."  
  
They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Harry was thinking about what it could mean if Severus was called when he was still little and sighed softly.  
  
"There is something else you may want to know before you leave for the night."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"It's about his memories."  
  
"His memories, sir?"  
  
"They will be coming back to him slowly as the days go by especially towards the last three days. Now this may be a good thing or a bad thing."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, they might come on strongly. He will be in shock for a little bit. All I'm asking is for you to be understanding. Also his memories will come back in order of receiving them and they will be mixed with the memories of these next few days with you, but when he gets back to your first year, be prepared for mood swings on his behalf."  
  
"Yes, sir." He said. "Did you say he'll remember everything that's going to happen in the next few days?"  
  
"Yes, I did." Dumbledore gazed intently at Harry for a few moments. "Harry, may I inquire as to why you seem to be taking all this so well?"  
  
"Mainly because I know I'd have to do even if I said no because I'd feel incredibly guilty if I didn't and also because I happen to care for Snape." Harry bowed his head and smiled down at Severus who was still busy with his new sticker. "More then he probably knows." The last part was spoken so softly that Dumbledore wasn't certain if he had heard correctly or not. But when Harry kept his head down Dumbledore knew he had heard correctly.  
  
"Ah," he said with a smile. Harry blushed slightly, but didn't raise his head. "I'm sure you're curious about your new room."  
  
Harry's head shot up and he looked at Dumbledore with surprise. "Room? What room?"  
  
"If I am not mistaken the boys who you currently share a room won't exactly appreciate having to sleep in the same room as a two year old Snape."  
  
"No, they probably wouldn't."  
  
"So, I took it upon myself to make sure you had a room to stay with young Severus until the potion wore off. All of your things are already there, including things to take care of him. There are clothing for every age in a bureau that will be placed in the room along with a chest full of toys for him to play with whenever he needs a distraction along with a few picture books. Dobby said he'll be more then happy to serve you whenever you need anything. Now if you need anything you know where to find me." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Dobby, will escort you to your new room momentarily. In the mean time, would you care for a sherbert lemon?" Harry accepted the offered treat much to the Headmaster's surprise.  
  
"Thank you." Harry said standing up abruptly. Severus clung tightly to Harry's robes in fear. Harry winced slightly at the reaction. Dobby entered the office and bowed deeply.  
  
"Dobby will be showing Harry Potter to his room now." Said Dobby pulling at the hem of Harry's robe.  
  
"Alright, lead the way."  
  
"Wait a moment." Harry stopped and turned to face Dumbledore once again. Dumbledore took out his wand and muttered a few incantations the smiled and said that he could leave now.  
  
Dobby smiled and hastily left the office. Harry followed after him slowly trying to calm Severus down who had been terrified by the sight of the house elf. Not that Harry could blame him. Dobby wasn't exactly the most pleasant looking creature around. He looked ahead and saw Dobby staring at him nervously. Speeding up slightly he caught up with Dobby and gave him an encouraging smile.  
  
Dobby returned the smile and continued on his way until the reached a painting of a woman with a snake coiled around her neck, smiling sweetly at him. She winked at Harry and blew him a kiss. Harry turned beat red and looked down at Dobby.  
  
"Do you know the password by any chance?"  
  
"No, You is supposed to give it one."  
  
"I am, eh?"  
  
Dobby nodded his head emphatically.  
  
"Hmm, well then what should the password be?" he mused. Severus looked up at Harry curiously and started to suck his thumb again. Harry thoughts were plagued with thoughts of Draco's taunting earlier that day and an idea struck him. He smirked.  
  
"I know 'Dumbledore's golden boy.'"  
  
Dobby gave him a weird look told him that there was dinner waiting for him inside and left. Harry returned his attention to the portrait.  
  
"So, who should I address?" Harry asked first in plain English then in parseltongue. The snake in the picture raised his head in surprise at being addressed and told Harry that he should talk to the woman whose name is Samara, but could talk to him if he wished. Harry nodded and told him thanks, before telling Samara the password.  
  
The picture swung open revealing an arched passage way. Harry hurried along it and came out into an open room that was about half the size of the Gryffindor common room. Harry looked around in awe and saw Severus looking around the room with the same expression.  
  
"Well, what do you think is it big enough?"  
  
Severus nodded. Harry smiled and explored the rest of the place discovering not only did he have his own personal bedroom but also a private bath. Harry was in a proverbial heaven as he re-entered the makeshift common room. He spotted the food over on a table in the corner with a highchair.  
  
"Hungwy, Har-wy," said Severus as his stomach rumbled.  
  
"Ok then, let's see what they left us to eat." Severus continued to suck on his thumb.  
  
Harry walked over to the table and saw a plate with half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it and a plate with some shepherd's pie and a dinner roll. Removing the tray part of the high chair, Harry carefully placed Severus into it, buckled him in, putting a bib he had found on the table on him, then proceeded to place the tray back on it and put the plate with the sandwich on it.  
  
Severus took his thumb out of his mouth and picked at the sandwich with one hand, before picking it up and trying to eat it. Some grape jelly squirted out the end of the sandwich and got on his hands. Severus looked at his sticky hand and wiped it on his shirt.  
  
Harry watched all this with amusement. He watched as Severus once again took a bite of the sandwich, no jelly came out this time and Harry sighed in relief. Harry returned his attention to his own meal and began to eat it. He continued to keep a close watch on Severus and chuckled as Severus tried to get some of the stickiness off his hands onto his face. Finishing his meal quickly, Harry took Severus out of the highchair and brought him into the bathroom.  
  
Setting him down in the tub, he sighed and took off the little boy's shirt and threw it aside. Harry then took out a washcloth and ran some warm water over it and rubbed some soap in it. He then turned to Severus who was watching Harry intently. Harry approached him slowly. Taking up the sticky hand, Harry scrubbed it clean and turned his attention onto the other one. Harry rinsed the washcloth and reapplied some soap and lightly scrubbed Severus' face with small circles. Once he was cleaned up he took him out of the tub and brought him into the bedroom.  
  
Realising he forgot to change Severus' diaper he brought him back into the bathroom and changed it rapidly trying to get it out of the way as fast as humanly possible.  
  
When that was all over, Harry put Severus in the crib and walked over to the bureau, opened the top drawer and peered inside. He saw shirts in assorted colours and sizes. Opening the next drawer he discovered some pants and in the last drawer he found some socks underpants and a couple of pairs of pyjamas.  
  
Severus stood up and peered over the edge of the crib, watching as Harry pulled out a pair of blue flannel pyjamas.  
  
"Do you like these?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes!" He smiled and bounced up and down slightly in excitement. Harry rolled his eyes and pulled the pyjamas on over his head. He finally got the arms through then proceeded to put on the matching pants.  
  
"There, all done," said Harry happily, picking Severus up out of the crib. He took a quick look at the clock seeing that it was only 6:45 he went back out into the main room again.  
  
Placing Severus on the floor he went over to the book shelf and pulled off The Little Engine That Could. He pulled Severus onto his lap and opened the book. Severus leaned against Harry and listened as Harry began to read the story.  
  
*******************  
  
"Ron, have you seen Harry recently?" Hermione asked as they made their way back to the common room from the Great Hall. She looked down at her watch and was surprise to see that it was already 7:30.  
  
"No," He looked at her nervously. "Where do you suppose he is?"  
  
"I don't know, Ron. Maybe we should go see Professor Dumbledore and find out if he knows where Harry went."  
  
"Ok. Let's go." He took her hand and they made their way to the headmasters office slowly. As they rounded the corner Ron pulled Hermione into a quick kiss. Hermione gasped in surprise, then giggled as Ron tried to lean in for another kiss and missed, kissing her on the nose instead. Letting her go, the uttered the password to the stone gargoyle and made their way up the steps. Hermione knocked on the door.  
  
Dumbledore opened the door and let them in.  
  
"What brings you two here?" he asked shutting the door behind them.  
  
"Sir," Ron said, "We were wondering if you knew where Harry was. He wasn't in the great hall for dinner."  
  
"That's because he was getting settled in." Dumbledore said.  
  
"Settled in?" Hermione asked. "Settled in where?"  
  
"His room for the remainder of the month. Both Harry and I were fairly sure that the boys in your dorm wouldn't appreciate having a five year old sleeping with them."  
  
Ron smirked thinking of the reactions all the guys would have had. "No, they wouldn't."  
  
"I'm sure you would like to know where this room is wouldn't you?"  
  
"Yes, sir." Hermione said quickly.  
  
"His new room is behind the picture of the woman holding the snake. Just tell her you want to speak to Harry."  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
"Oh and Miss Granger have you spoken with Mr. Malfoy yet?"  
  
Ron looked at Hermione in bewilderment. Hermione mouthed 'later' and shook her head no.  
  
"Well, I'll be needing that answer by tomorrow morning."  
  
"Certainly, Professor."  
  
They exited the office and made their way through the halls until the came across the portrait. The woman was talking to the snake who seemed to be nodding in agreement.  
  
"Er, Hello," said Hermione tentatively, "Is Harry here?"  
  
Samara nodded her head and put the snake down who slithered out the side of the painting and disappeared.  
  
The snake found Harry reading quietly to Severus who was sleeping already.  
  
"Hess asssleep."  
  
Harry looked up and saw his door guardian in a painting of a field.  
  
"Whatss up?" Harry asked, stretching slightly in place, trying not to wake up Severus.  
  
"Theress people outsside."  
  
"Thankss."  
  
The snake nodded slightly and left the painting to go back to the door. It wound its way around the woman's leg and continued up till he was back on her shoulder then told her the message.  
  
"He'll be right out." Samara said sweetly. Ron and Hermione nodded.  
  
Harry slowly stood up and held Severus close as he made his way to the door. Severus opened his eyes slightly and yawned. "Har-wy?" He said groggily.  
  
"Shh. It's ok," said Harry, rubbing small circles against the two year olds back. Severus slowly drifted back to sleep against Harry's shoulder. Harry sighed in relief and continued on his way to the door. He pushed it open allowing Ron and Hermione in. Ron looked like he was about to say something, but Harry quickly shushed him and led them into the main room.  
  
He gestured for them to take a seat then went into the bedroom and put Severus into his crib and cast a charm over it to alert him if he woke up.  
  
Upon entering the larger room he saw Ron and Hermione in deep conversation.  
  
"Hey guys." He said sitting down on the chair  
  
"Hi." They responded taking in the room slowly.  
  
"Nice place." Ron said sounding impressed.  
  
"Yea, it has a bathroom and everything."  
  
"Neat. Can I go see it?"  
  
"See it or use it?" Ron blushed slightly and muttered use it. Harry pointed to the room on the right. Ron quickly made his way over to it and shut the door. One of the sensors went off alerting Harry that Severus had just woken up. Hermione looked around trying to find the location of the buzzing noise.  
  
"I'll be right back Mione." Harry said. He walked back into the bedroom and a light flared from a corner so he could see what was going on. Severus was sitting in the crib gripping the railing. Silent tears were rolling down his cheeks. He put his hands up in the air to be picked up when Harry strode over to him. Harry obliged and picked him up.  
  
"Hey Sev, What's the matter, huh?" asked Harry, bouncing him up in down as he paced the room. Severus just clutched Harry's robe and buried his head in the crook of Harry's neck, refusing to speak. Harry sighed and brought him back out of the bedroom to where Ron and Hermione were sitting.  
  
"Sorry about that." Harry said taking his seat again, Severus still had a tight grip of his robe and didn't look at who was in the room with them. Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic smile.  
  
"Hey Severus." Hermione said trying to get him to turn around.  
  
"Mina?" He sniffled and turned his head slightly, but didn't see anyone.  
  
"I'm over here," He turned his head the other way and saw Hermione smiling at him. He grinned weakly and loosened his grip on Harry to reach out for her. She took him immediately. Harry mouthed 'thank you' to Hermione, who winked in return and sat back down next to Ron.  
  
Severus looked at Ron trying to remember who he was. Hermione looked at Ron, who glared angrily back at her.  
  
"This is Ron," said Hermione in introduction. Ron continued to glare angrily at her and didn't say hi.  
  
"Ron?" Severus asked in confirmation.  
  
"That's right, Ron, who just happens to be acting like a complete git right now."  
  
"Git?"  
  
"Never you mind." Harry said. Severus looked at him funnily then yawned. "Tired?"  
  
He nodded and blinked wearily. Hermione smiled at this tiny exchange and nudged Ron in the side.  
  
"What?" he hissed. She rolled her eyes and stood up, handing Severus back to Harry.  
  
"We'll see you tomorrow, Harry." Hermione said, pulling Ron up off the couch as well. "Will you be down for breakfast?"  
  
"Yea, we'll be there."  
  
Ron thumped Harry on the back and said, "Good luck, mate." Giving Severus a pointed look. Harry held the little boy closer and nodded. Ron sighed and shook his head in defeat then followed out of the room. Harry sighed and fell back against the chair he was sitting in. he looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was barely 8, deciding that it would be in everybody's best interest to go talk to Draco. He stood up and went back into the bedroom.  
  
He placed Severus on the middle of his own bed then opened the trunk at the end of it. Severus crawled across the comforter and peered over the edge to see what Harry was doing.  
  
"Whatcha doin Har-wy?"  
  
Harry looked up and saw a pair of black eyes staring at him intently.  
  
"I'm looking for....this." He pulled his invisibility cloak out of his trunk and shut the lid with a snap. Severus jumped backwards slightly at the noise. "Sev, come here." Harry ordered extending a hand across the bed. Severus clung to him and was lifted off the bed.  
  
Harry threw the cloak over both of them and exited his rooms. They walked down the hallways silently looking for Draco. Harry knew that tonight was Draco's turn to patrol the hallways after curfew, because it was Hermione's the night before.  
  
First they explored down towards the dungeons then headed up from there. Harry finally spotted him near the prefects bathroom. He placed a hand over Severus' mouth before he could call out to him.  
  
"Shhhh," Harry hissed, putting him on the ground and holding his hand. They got closer to Draco then stopped. "On the count of three yell 'boo'. Ready?"  
  
Severus nodded. "One, two, three."  
  
"BOO!" They shouted in unison. Draco jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around.  
  
"Who's there?" he called out shakily.  
  
Harry tapped him on the back after he took the cloak off of him and Severus, who was giggling hysterically. Draco turned around and sighed deeply. "Jesus, Potter, are you trying to give me a heart attack."  
  
"Nope, but I am trying to give you a little bit of a task."  
  
"Really," he said contemplatively, he looked at Harry then at Severus. "What? And who's that?"  
  
"I need you to take him at breakfast tomorrow and Dumbledore wants Hermione to ask you if you'll help her teach potions and ask him who he is yourself."  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow, but asked anyway. "Who might you be?"  
  
Severus hid behind Harry's robe and peaked out around Harry's leg. Harry laughed and pushed Severus towards Draco.  
  
"Go on, he doesn't bite. Harry said. Draco rolled his eyes.  
  
"Sev 'us."  
  
Draco was shocked. And stared intently at his former head of house.  
  
"Severus?" He asked Harry, who nodded. His eyes gleaming madly.  
  
"So, do you accept the task at hand?" Harry asked quirking an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, to both I guess." He ran a hand through his hair letting out a long sigh. "What happened to him?"  
  
"Potions accident this morning."  
  
Being brave, Severus reached out and grabbed Draco's hand. Draco smiled warmly at the boy, who beamed back at him then at Harry. Harry ruffled the little boys hair affectionately.  
  
Draco wanted to comment on this but thought better of it.  
  
"Is he stuck like this?"  
  
"No, he'll be back to his normal greasy self in about 3 weeks."  
  
"Huh. You do realise that you're out after curfew don't you?"  
  
"Yes, but when has that stopped me before?"  
  
"Good point, I suppose I'll let you off easy this time, but you owe me."  
  
"Ok, night, Malfoy."  
  
"Night, Potter."  
  
"Can you say good night to Draco?"  
  
"G'night, Dwaco." Severus said in his high pitched voice.  
  
"Good night." Draco smiled and walked of in the opposite direction. Harry picked Severus back up and placed the cloak over both of them and headed back to his room. Somewhere along the walk back, Severus fell asleep and started to snore lightly.  
  
Entering his room Harry placed Severus back into his crib then entered the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. He stared at his reflection in the mirror and was surprised to see the rings that had formed under his eyes. Harry splashed some water on his face, then put on a pair of pyjamas and walked back into the bedroom.  
  
He set the alarm on his bedside and checked on Severus one last time. Once he knew for a fact that he was asleep, Harry muttered 'nox' and the lights went out, leaving Harry temporarily blind. He stumbled towards the glowing numbers of the clock and fell into bed. Taking of his glasses he put them on the bedside table and curled up under his quilt and fell asleep.  
  
********* A/N: hehehehe awwwww so cute I'm killing him but that's ok everyone can forgive me for that right?  
  
Please Review! 


	3. Sev'us

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. But I make up there weird personalities!  
  
A/N: WHEEEEEEE! *Does a happy dance* Will you look at the amount of reviews I've gotten for this story. It's mind blowing. 37 reviews for only two chapters! And the reviews are all positive and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  
  
Now I must thank the fine people who did review and I'm sorry if I missed anyone.  
  
eth: Oh there are too many Harry gone baby stories out there. I mean sure a baby Harry is adorable and all but this way is even cuter. Thank you!  
  
Joulez: Thank you I try to make sure I don't go more then a month without updating. Or at least I try not too.  
  
Chibidaima: Thank you.  
  
Slytheretta: I'm so glad you like this story.  
  
Penny: Thank you.  
  
Crys Skywalker: Of course I will eventually just not this chapter. Maybe when Snape's older and can talk more fluently.  
  
Dahlias: Ok the romance itself won't even happen till the end of the chapter, but right at this moment there is none although I do say that Draco and Harry once were in one. I couldn't resist throwing another one of my favourite ships into the mix. *sheepish grin*  
  
lillinfields: I'm writing more. See new chapter!  
  
Barbarataku: I liked this review. It didn't make me feel so rushed. I thank you for that.  
  
Aria-fic: I seriously stink at writing summaries it would be lovely I you could help me think up a better one.  
  
ankhangel88: hehehe thank you.  
  
velda: Yea, I know they're all a bit OOC except maybe Hermione and Ron. I think they may be the only characters left with their original personality. As for the Draco Harry thing you'll see.  
  
Kaaera: Thank you!  
  
Sky: I'm glad you like it.  
  
N Snape: Well, since you asked polietly.  
  
athenakitty: You know your reviews always confuse me. But hey. I'm glad you do review.  
  
Unseen Watcher: hehehehe. Exactly!  
  
Prophetess Of Hearts: Ok!  
  
Toria: No. No one can blame him. Thank you!  
  
**********  
  
~*Previously*~  
  
Entering his room Harry placed Severus back into his crib then entered the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. He stared at his reflection in the mirror and was surprised to see the rings that had formed under his eyes. Harry splashed some water on his face, then put on a pair of pyjamas and walked back into the bedroom.  
  
He set the alarm on his bedside and checked on Severus one last time. Once he knew for a fact that he was asleep, Harry muttered 'nox' and the lights went out, leaving Harry temporarily blind. He stumbled towards the glowing numbers of the clock and fell into bed. Taking of his glasses he put them on the bedside table and curled up under his quilt and fell asleep.  
  
***********  
  
"Har-wy?" Severus cried out into the dark. Harry groaned, rolled over, but didn't wake up. "HAR-WY!?" Harry woke with a jolt and sat up quickly making him dizzy. He glanced over at the clock at the side of his bed and moaned. The glowing red numbers informed him that it was only three in the morning.  
  
"Har-wy?" Severus cried pleadingly, followed by sniffling and a gasping sob. Harry could tell that Snape was on the verge of crying. He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and glared at the crib that was positioned across the room. He reached blindly at the table next to his bed and grabbed his glasses and put them on.  
  
"Bloody hell," he muttered glaring angrily at the clock. "Al-lright," said Harry stifling a yawn. He stood up and carefully made his way across the dark room. "I'm coming."  
  
"Har-wy-y-y." Harry crossed the room as quick as possible and leaned over the edge of the crib. Severus was sitting against the edge of the crib, his chubby fingers gripping the side, when Harry finally got over to him he looked up at him with his tear stained face.  
  
"What's the matter?" Harry asked softly. Severus reached up his hands to be picked up. Harry gladly leaned over the railing of the crib and picked the crying boy out of the crib.  
  
"Come on Sev," he coaxed. "Tell me what's wrong." Snape clung tightly to Harry but remained silent. "You're going to have to tell me if you want me to make it better."  
  
"No," Came the muffled response. Harry affectionately rubbed small circles on the little boys back, in wonderment.  
  
"No?" Harry asked in a cross between concern and surprise.  
  
"No." The reply was firmer this time. Harry held him tightly and walked back to his own bed. Harry sat down, placed the two year old on the bed next to him, and smiled. Severus automatically scooted closer to Harry. Harry gently stroked Severus' hair.  
  
"Will you eventually tell me?"  
  
Severus struggled into a sitting position then leaned against Harry and yawned. Harry pulled the little boy if possible closer.  
  
"Yes," said Severus who was almost back to sleep, leaning against Harry's side.  
  
"Wanna go back to your bed?"  
  
"No." Severus' eyes shot open searching Harry's, for a glimmer of hope. "Pwease." He pleaded. Harry didn't question him this time and scooted back to his pillow bringing Severus with him. He laid down, draped the covers over them, and took his glasses back off.  
  
"Is this going to happen every night?" Harry asked cuddling Severus close to him, not really sure if he was addressing the 2 year old lying next to him or himself. The only answer he got was a yawn and a slight nod of the head. They both slowly drifted off to sleep.  
  
*********  
  
"HARRY JAMES POTTER GET DOWN HERE AND OPEN THIS DOOR IMMEDIATELY!!"  
  
Harry's eyes flew open and winced as the loud voice was accompanied by even louder knocking. He gazed at the black haired boy that was spooned up against him and sighed.  
  
"HARRY! DID YOU HEAR ME!? GET YOUR LAZY ARSE OUT OF BED AND OPEN THIS DOOR!"  
  
He quickly scrambled to put his glasses on. The glowing red numbers of the clock said it was '7:30.' He groaned wondering why the alarm hadn't gone off earlier.  
  
"I'm coming!" He yelled as he gently shook Severus to wake him. This action got him nowhere, so, he just scooped Severus up in his arms and made his way into the common room, through the tunnel, and to the door. Upon opening, he was greeted by a very angry Hermione, who thrust some toast into his hands roughly.  
  
"Er, thanks..." He said trying to figure out what he did this time, running his fingers through his hair, and leaned against the door jam. Severus started to stir but only to turn his head in a different direction and snuggle closer to Harry.  
  
"Do you know why I'm so angry at you?" Hermione asked coolly. Harry shook his head and yawned. "Bloody hell, Harry! You promised you'd be at breakfast." She ranted.  
  
"You had Ron there didn't you?"  
  
"That's not the point and you know it. Today's the first day of teaching and I still haven't talked to Draco yet."  
  
"Oops." Harry mumbled half frowning. "I forgot to mention I already asked him and he agreed."  
  
"Oops?" She asked incredulously, her brown eyes narrowing into tiny slits. "OOPS!? Harry, I can't believe you! I must have looked completely foolish, plus the fact that I had to go ask Draco by myself because this lousy excuse for a boyfriend," she jerked a thumb at Ron, "was having too much fun laughing his arse off at my expense."  
  
"Ron!" Harry said pretending to be shocked. "How can you be so cruel?" Hermione glared at both boys then stormed off towards the dungeons. Ron gave an apologetic smile and ran off after her. By this time Severus was wide awake and wondering why everyone was shouting so loudly.  
  
"Har-wy?" He asked genuinely curious. "Why you loud?"  
  
"I'm sorry, did we wake you?"  
  
"No." He said like it was the best word in the world. Harry bit his lip and looked thoughtful.  
  
"Ok then, you hungry?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Thought as much. Come on let's go eat then."  
  
************  
  
Harry scooped Severus up off the floor and left his room after cleaning up from breakfast and headed down the corridors. The day hadn't started out exceptionally, but that was to be expected. As he got closer to the dungeons Severus started trembling violently in his arms.  
  
"Sev?" Harry asked with concern. "Are you ok?"  
  
"Bad, Bad, Bad." Came the muffled response. Harry was bewildered. What could possibly be bad down here? Harry glanced into the shadowy corners but saw no one.  
  
"There's nothing bad here." Harry said soothingly.  
  
"Bad," Severus said again this time looking straight into Harry's eyes. Harry was slightly startled to see that tears were forming in Snape's eyes. Harry hugged the little boy closer and took another step, Severus remained silent but was still crying, then practically raced down the steps and into the potions dungeon.  
  
Hermione and Draco had their heads bent over a piece of parchment and were reading it in silence. Harry saw Ron scowling at them from across the room.  
  
"Hey Ron." Harry said sitting down next to him. Severus titled his head slightly and saw Ron sitting next to him.  
  
"Hi," Ron said never taking his eyes off Hermione.  
  
"Ron!" He cried out happily smiling for the first time that day, the only sign that he had been crying moments ago was the wet stain on Harry's robe, and his blood shot eyes . Ron seemed taken aback by the sudden outburst but nodded his head.  
  
Hermione looked up from the parchment and smiled at the boys in the back of the room.  
  
"Hello Harry, sorry I yelled at you earlier." She said flashing him a smile.  
  
"That's ok." Harry said rolling his eyes. "You don't need to apologize. I really should have told you sooner."  
  
"Mina!" Severus squealed and managed to escape Harry's grasp and ran straight to Hermione. "Mina!"  
  
Draco seemed a bit shocked at Severus's reactions but didn't say anything. Severus gave Draco a big grin then reached up to him.  
  
"Up!" He demanded. Draco looked at Harry who was laughing silently. "Up Dwaco!"  
  
Draco quickly obliged and picked him up and gave Hermione a puzzled look. Severus reached out and grabbed a fistful of Draco's golden tresses and pulled it, hard.  
  
"Ouch!" Draco yelped glaring at the 2 year old. Severus kept his clutch on Draco's hair and giggled hysterically.  
  
Harry made his way to the front of the room and gently pried Severus' fingers out of Draco's hair.  
  
"Sorry about that Dray." Harry said taking the little boy out of Draco's arms.  
  
"It's ok Harry." Draco said smiling then turning back to the parchment that held the lesson plans for the day. Harry smiled faintly and took the little boy to the back of the room and sat back down.  
  
"Har-wy angwy?" Severus asked after a few moments of silence.  
  
Harry sighed and ruffled Severus' hair. "No, I'm not angry."  
  
"No?"  
  
"No," Harry said smiling.  
  
Severus returned the smile tentatively, then stuck his thumb in his mouth and started to suck on it. Harry chuckled slightly and pulled out a piece of parchment with his transfiguration homework on it.  
  
Hermione glanced at her wristwatch then at the door. Class was going to start in 15 minutes and whether she was ready was questionable and by the looks of things Draco wasn't fairing much better.  
  
"You ready for this?" She asked looking at Draco who was situated across the table, still reading the parchment. Draco looked up and met her gaze.  
  
"Doubt I'll ever be ready for this."  
  
"I know that feeling." She paused and looked like she wanted to say something but was having second thoughts about it.  
  
"You want to know about me and Harry don't you?"  
  
Hermione gave him a sheepish smile and inclined her head. "Harry was rather sparse on details."  
  
"I figured he would be." Draco said leaning against the desk.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" She sat down in the chair behind the desk and sank into it.  
  
"It just means he's so closed off most of the time. What did you expect? He asked startling Hermione. "Him to blurt everything out? I don't think he's ever been that open."  
  
Harry looked up and saw Draco and Hermione talking in hushed tones, but it didn't seem to be about the class. He saw Hermione stare in his direction with a look of disbelief. Harry felt uneasy under her stare and decided to find out what they were talking about for himself.  
  
"Hey guys," he said casually. "What are we talking about?"  
  
Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh nothing Harry. You know," she said feigning nonchalance, waving a dismissing hand. "What we are going to do in class."  
  
"Am I some how apart of this lesson plan?"  
  
Hermione blushed and shook her head. Draco was idly examining his fingernails like nothing was going on, but harry saw straight through him. He scowled slightly.  
  
Draco raised a sculpted eyebrow. "Yes?"  
  
"You were talking about me," he said looking between them. "Why?"  
  
"Well," Draco began, "If you must know I was telling her exactly how we managed to get together since you didn't seem to."  
  
"That's old news now Dray."  
  
"Obviously, but she wanted to know. Why shouldn't I tell her?"  
  
"Because this class begins in 10 minutes and I personally don't want my romantic endeavors exploited to the masses."  
  
"Why should they care about some fling we had?"  
  
"They shouldn't but they do." He said raking his fingers through his unruly hair. "And you of all people should now that."  
  
"And you should know better then to leave a two year old unattended."  
  
"Shit." He said seeing the mess Severus was making. He rushed to the back of the room and quickly grabbed his quill and ink out of the little boys hands, along with his now ruined transfiguration homework.  
  
"Bad, You're a bad boy, Snape! You don't play with these things."  
  
Severus looked up at Harry with tears forming in his eyes. He reached up and tried to wipe them away as the fell and wound up smudging some of the ink across his face.  
  
"Sev'us." He corrected. Harry took a deep calming breath and nodded, picking Severus up off the desk.  
  
"Sorry Mione," He said heading towards the door. "But I need to wash this stuff off his face before it becomes a permanent fixture."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"Go," Draco said stifling a laugh. "We'll stall a bit."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He left the room in a hurry, trying to calm down Severus who was once again shaking uncontrollably. He whispered reassurances to him while slowly rubbing his back. Slowly, Severus began to calm down, till he became so still Harry thought he might have fallen asleep. However, before he could find out a small hand shot out and grabbed his glasses.  
  
"Hey," he said laughing. "You little thief give those back."  
  
"No!" Severus screeched in laughter putting the glasses on. Harry chuckled and took the far too big glasses and put them back on.  
  
"You're a mess."  
  
"No." Severus said, happily.  
  
"Yes," Harry said, "You are and you need a bath."  
  
"No bath."  
  
"Yes bath."  
  
"NO!"  
  
Harry stopped short. "What's wrong with a bath?"  
  
Severus buried his head in the folds of Harry's robe and didn't move.  
  
"Ok fine then, no bath, but I still need to wash your face and hands."  
  
"No bath?"  
  
Harry nodded as they entered the boys lavatory. He set Severus down on the ground and went in search of a towel. He eventually found one and came back to find Severus had fallen asleep on the floor.  
  
"You little terror." He said wetting the towel and putting some soap on it. "What am I going to do with you?"  
  
Carefully, he brought the little boys body into a sitting position and began to scrub at the ink. Severus woke up and started beating away the towel each time it came near his face.  
  
"No, stop it." He said tiredly, still trying to wake up. Harry stopped scrubbing Severus' face and moved onto his hands, Finally all that was left was a few spots where the ink was still visible.  
  
"Ok I'm done." Harry said throwing the towel aside and standing again.  
  
Severus clung to Harry's leg and hoisted himself off the floor. He grabbed hold of Harry's hand and looked up at him expectantly.  
  
"Go now?" Severus asked attempting to pull Harry along. Harry followed reluctantly, but stopped as they started heading towards stairs that were going upstairs.  
  
"I have class still."  
  
Severus started to pull harder on Harry's hand.  
  
"Can't go."  
  
"Why not?" Harry asked picking Severus up off the ground before he hurt himself.  
  
"Bad."  
  
"So you've said," Harry said walking back towards the Potion Dungeons. "But you have yet to tell me why."  
  
"Just is."  
  
"Well we have to go back whether you want to or not."  
  
Severus didn't say anything, but clung to Harry tighter as they rushed back to class. Harry knew he'd be late but he didn't think it would have taken him so long.  
  
Opening the door silently he hoped no one would notice his late entrance. Looking up once inside he saw that every single pair of eyes were on him.  
  
"Potter, you're late," Draco called loudly from the front of class. Harry glared at him and quickly took up the empty seat next to Ron. Severus wasn't quite sure what to make of this new situation. Draco was yelling and that made him nervous and Harry seemed angry and he didn't like that either. Therefore, he did what any true two year old would do. He cried, wailed seemed like a more appropriate term and it was for Hermione.  
  
Everyone was looking at Harry again with curiosity and annoyance. Who was this little boy and why does Harry have him were some of the questions on everyone's mind.  
  
"MINA!" Severus wailed, flailing his tiny limbs and twisting and turning trying to get out of Harry's arms.  
  
Hermione slowly made her way from the front of the room to where Harry sat and gently took Severus into her arms and carried him back to the front of the class, never looking at any of the questioning glances.  
  
"As you all may well know by now, considering our school's miraculous gossip system, that our beloved potions master" The comment caused a few Gryffindors to snort. "has been drenched in a botched potion causing him to de-age."  
  
She held Severus out slightly from her as proof. "This," she said, "Is Severus Snape."  
  
There was a couple of gasps, but the statement was just met by a bunch of surprised faces. One Ravenclaw had the nerve to raise her hand.  
  
"Hermione," she asked, "if that really is Professor Snape, then why has he been entrusted to Harry's care?"  
  
"That's a very good question and I don't have a very good answer other then Dumbledore told him to. Harry may have an idea why."  
  
Everyone brought their gaze back to Harry, waiting for him to answer.  
  
"I don't know why." He said with a small shrug. "Why don't you ask him yourselves?"  
  
The gaze of the class settled onto the two year old who was currently acting very shy. He looked at Harry who gave him a small smile, making Severus feel much better.  
  
"Come on Sev," Hermione said in a whisper so no one could hear her. "Tell them why Harry."  
  
"Harry!" Severus squealed in excitement. The class had mixed responses to this. From the boys a look of horror and from the girls a collective 'aww'.  
  
Harry stood up from his seat gracefully and strode down the aisle and took Severus into his arms and turned on his heal giving Hermione a wink and sat back down at him desk.  
  
Harry ruffled Severus' hair again, making Severus' nose scrunch up.  
  
"My little friend, I feel insulted." Harry said teasingly. Severus could hear the laughter in Harry's voice and happily laughed along.  
  
************  
  
The rest of the class went by smoothly much to Draco and Hermione's relief as did the rest of the morning. Harry invited all of them back to his rooms for lunch. They all agreed this was a good idea and went straight there after their classes got out. Draco reached his rooms first and asked the portrait politely if she could tell Harry he had arrived. Samara nodded and said something to the snake who disappeared out of the portrait.  
  
Draco waited patiently attempting to ignore the woman in the portrait who didn't speak, but kept winking at him and blowing kisses in his general direction making Draco unbelievably uncomfortable.  
  
After what seemed like hours Harry opened the door from the inside and stepped out into the hall.  
  
"Afternoon Dray," He said ushering him in. "The other's should be here momentarily."  
  
Draco entered ahead of Harry and looked around his rooms appraisingly.  
  
"Nice place you got here." He said.  
  
"It works." Harry answered, just as Severus came running into the room and straight to Draco.  
  
"Dwaco." He squealed excitedly, running at him. "Dwaco!"  
  
Draco bent down and captured him in a hug picking him up off the floor.  
  
"I hope you haven't been giving Harry to much trouble," said Draco suspiciously.  
  
Severus gave him an innocent look as if to say 'who me?'  
  
"Of course he hasn't." Harry said loudly before muttering to Draco, "The place is still in one piece isn't it."  
  
Draco snickered and nodded him head. "What's for lunch?"  
  
"Nothing to big probably some sandwiches or something of that nature." Harry replied absently. "I just hope it has very little filling or sauce."  
  
Severus gave Harry a huge smile.  
  
"Oh don't play innocent with me," He said sternly. "We all know what happened last time you had sauce."  
  
Severus giggled and started wiggling. Draco put him down on the ground rapidly. Severus grinned at him then ran to Harry and hugged his leg. Harry lifted his leg taking Severus with him and shook it gently as he put it back down.  
  
"Mine!"  
  
"Possessive isn't he?" Draco asked, watching the two boys in front of him with amusement.  
  
Harry looked at Severus who was smiling revealing his missing teeth. "Yes, very possessive."  
  
The snake appeared in a painting near Draco and started hissing. Draco jumped back in surprise and saw Harry nodding at the snake then told it something and watched it leave again.  
  
"What was that about?"  
  
"Oh Ron and Hermione just showed up."  
  
"Oh," was all that Draco could say.  
  
Harry leaned over and tried to dislodge Severus from his leg, but Severus wouldn't relent.  
  
"Harry...what's he doing?" Hermione asked staring at Severus who gave her a cheeky grin once she stepped in the room.  
  
"I can't tell you." Harry said, once more trying to get Severus to let go of him. "Come on Sev let go. Go cling to Hermione. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Sorry Mione," He said finally getting Severus to let go. "So, how was the rest of the morning."  
  
"Ugh, it was a nightmare." She said sitting down on one of the chairs. "I now understand exactly what makes Snape so surly all the time."  
  
"Sev'us." Severus said immediately in correction.  
  
"Of course." Hermione said quickly. "Severus how has your morning been?"  
  
Severus smiled. "Goohd."  
  
"That's great," she said then looked at Harry who was grinning in the corner. "And how was yours?"  
  
"As good as I suppose it could be." Harry answered indifferently.  
  
"That bad, huh?"  
  
"The worst."  
  
"Well look on the bright side." She said chuckling. "Tomorrow he'll be three."  
  
"That's the bright side?" He asked incredulously. "You know better then most that a three year old is five times worse then a two year old. I'm doomed."  
  
"Oh stop being so melodramatic." Ron said, finally entering the room, looking slightly flustered.  
  
"What happened to you?" Harry asked taking in Ron's appearance. "Did you get mugged in the hallway?"  
  
"Mugged?"  
  
"Muggle expression." Hermione told him.  
  
"But seriously," Harry said leaning over and picking up Severus, who was making a fuss about not being picked up to begin with. "What happened?"  
  
"Your door guardian didn't like me to much." Ron muttered fixing his appearance.  
  
"Why what did she do?"  
  
"She swung her painting right into me knocking me over."  
  
'That's all?" Draco asked laughing at Ron's face which was now two shades redder then his hair and was turning purple with embarrassment. The room lapsed into a comfortable silence or uncomfortable in Ron's case.  
  
"Har-wy hungwy." Severus stated into silence. Harry chuckled and nodded.  
  
"Lunch anyone?"  
  
***********  
  
Lunch went much smoother then anyone had anticipated, with the slight exception of Severus' random outbursts everything seemed rather normal.  
  
Once lunch was finished everyone said their good-byes and went their separate ways. Hermione and Harry went to N.E.W.T level Transfiguration, Ron to the Gryffindor common room because he forgot his books, and Draco down to the Potion's dungeon to teach the next class of first year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.  
  
Harry put Severus down on the ground and held his hand as they made their way to the transfiguration corridor, where they were shortly met by Ron and entered the classroom.  
  
The class that day ended up being pure review. Harry was very grateful for this slight reprieve. He wasn't exactly sure what he would do with Severus if they were having a practical class. Transfiguration is hard by itself without the added worry of hitting a two year with a misdirected spell.  
  
After the last class of the day Harry carrying a sleeping Severus back to their rooms and sat down on their couch and relaxed. The day had been a bit more hectic then he had hoped it would be but he survived and he took that as a good thing.  
  
When dinner was done and they were both all cleaned up. Harry carried Severus into the bedroom and changed him into blue feety pajamas and zipped him into them. Then he quickly took of his clothing and threw a shirt on over his naked torso.  
  
"You want to sleep in my bed again?" Harry asked once they were already settled in.  
  
"Yes," Severus replied in his squeaky voice, cuddling up next to Harry under the comforters.  
  
"Ok then," Harry said turning out the lights, drawing the comforters closer. "Goodnight."  
  
"G'night," came the sleepy response.  
  
************  
  
A/N: Yay! Another chapter and the next one he'll be three. Now besides the general asking for a review. I'm going to beg you people to go read and review my other slash story called Reason for Hope. It's an H/D fic that I really enjoy and will be getting better within the next to chapters. As a matter of fact I hope to get another chapter of that out next month, then I'll be able to write what I've been planning for, for the last 2 months. Yay for that. So please go read it. It would mean a lot. And don't forget to review this one. 


	4. Izzy

A/N: I'm so sorry that I haven't updated sooner. But life just sorta got in the way.. But I"d like to thank....Whitewolf2, shroom, curiousdreamweaver, vaderisgod, athenakitty, NatalieJ, kaaera, lillinfields, Unseen Watcher, Sky, Toria, JE aka Yessina, anna may, flack,valanthe, TomIsMyMan, Crys Skywalker, me!!!, pretty-lady-serenity, You know who I am, I am the one who gets more and more annoying with each passing day!, Solo D. Maxwell-Yuy.  
  
You guys make my day you really really do! 63 reviews!!!!!!!!  
  
"Har-wy, time to get up!"  
  
Harry groaned and rolled away from the whining voice.  
  
Severus pouted and climbed over Harry and poked him in the stomach.  
  
"Up!"  
  
"Alright already," Harry opened his eyes and glared at him. "I'm up."  
  
"Good," He exclaimed happily. "Mina is here."  
  
At this Harry sat straight up in bed and looked at the clock. He almost swore. It was 15 minutes to eight.  
  
He grabbed some clothing from the dresser and threw it on the bed.  
  
"Ok, hands up." Harry ordered. Severus immediately complied, lifting his hands up as high as they could go. Harry quickly placed the shirt on him, then made him sit and quickly shoved his pants on.  
  
"You're going to have to wait with Hermione while I get ready ok?"  
  
"K," came the jubilant response as he raced out of the room ahead of Harry.  
  
"Mina! Har-wy said I gets to wayt with you!"  
  
"Did he?" Hermione asked chuckling. "Well get up here then." She patted the seat next to her.  
  
"K!" he struggled with it for a bit but finally managed to make it up onto the couch beside Hermione. She beamed in approval, and allowed him to sit on her lap as they waited for Harry to emerge from the bathroom.  
  
Harry sighed and stared at his reflection in the mirror and was surprised to see the dark circles under his eyes that had been present since Sirius's death were fading. He rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them and took one final glance in the mirror and smiled slightly, the door was opening slowly. He looked in the mirror and wasn't to surprised to see Severus standing in the doorway teddy bear in hand. He smiled at him from the mirror before turning around and gesturing for him to come over to him.  
  
Severus immediately rushed to Harry's side and looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to do something.  
  
"Har-wy, you ready?" He asked clutching 'Izzy', the teddy bear, tightly to him.  
  
"Almost," Harry answered drying his hair with the towel, and leaving it sticking out in odd directions, before taking Severus's free hand and going back out to get Hermione, so they could make their way down to the Great Hall.  
  
"Morning Harry," Hermione said in greeting, standing up and straightening out her robes.  
  
"Morning Mione." he said yawning, then grinned. "You know you really should have woken us up earlier."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. "I would have if I didn't know that these last couple of nights you had been getting the best sleep you probably have had since the beginning of first year."  
  
Harry grinned sheepishly. It was true this had been the first restful sleep he had gotten in a long while. He looked down at the dark haired boy standing next to him and frowned. There was obviously something troubling the three year old, because it was written all over his face for the world to read. It put Harry on his guard to see him like this. Even Hermione seemed to notice something was wrong with him, because she too was looking down at him puzzled. She glanced up at him with a worried expression.  
  
Harry picked the now slightly heavier Severus Snape, giving him a light kiss on the forehead, and beckoned Hermione to follow as they made their way out of his rooms and down towards the Great Hall.  
  
Harry kept a tight grip on the little boy who seemed very put out suddenly and not at all like the little spitfire who had woken him up this morning. This worried both Harry and Hermione to no end. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him earlier, what brought on the sudden change of mood?  
  
The three reached the Great Hall and entered it. It seemed that the Hogwarts gossip train hadn't been derailed for everyone was starring in their direction or whispering to the person sitting next to them. But this didn't deter them one bit, they all were used to the silent starring by now so they shrugged it off and sat down at the seats that were saved by Ron.  
  
"I thought you'd never make it down here before breakfast ended." Ron said through a mouthful of food.  
  
"Ron, what have I told you about speaking with food still in your mouth?" Hermione asked angrily, watching Harry try to get Severus to eat some of his pancakes, but the three year old kept refusing it.  
  
"What?" Ron whined. He followed Hermione's gaze as it rested across the table on Harry and Snape. He also watched as Harry seemed to fail miserably at getting the silent child to eat. Ron was surprised with himself for not noticing how much quieter he was compared to the other times he was around him. He looked across the hall and scanned the Slytherin table for Draco and found him also watching Harry and Snape with concern. As a matter of fact quite a few people were watching this small interaction curiously.  
  
Harry was feeling helpless. This wasn't normal behavior for any three-year- old and he knew it. Normal three-year-olds were extremely hyperactive and couldn't seem to sit still for more then a minute before their attention drifted. Severus most certainly wasn't any of these. He tried once more to get him to eat something, but the little boy once again pushed the fork away from him and looked obstinately at the table. Harry gently reached out and brushed some of the stray fringe away from the little boy's eyes and gasped. The eyes that met Harry's weren't the bright, happy ones he was accustomed to seeing for the last few days, instead it was like he was staring into the emotionless ones of his middle aged professor. This couldn't be right, why would a three year old need to shield his emotions? He looked across the hall and met Draco's cool steel gaze and made a discreet head movement towards the door.  
  
Draco got the message for he stood up languidly and made his way out of the hall. Harry followed about a minute later. Draco grabbed him by the arm and led him to an abandoned room and shut and locked the door behind them, finally taking a good look at the three-year-old Severus Snape. He could tell why Harry was distressed with one look at the little boy.  
  
Harry gently placed the little boy on the ground and kneeled next to him. Reaching out he gently stroked Snape's cheek trying to gain his attention.  
  
Severus slowly raised his eyes and met Harry's. He stumbled backward slightly upon seeing the compassion that was shining through Harry's eyes. He sniffled slightly and sat down on the ground.  
  
Draco sat down behind the little boy and pulled him into a loose embrace, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. He looked up at Harry giving him a sad smile. The moment Harry sat down next to Draco, Severus climbed off of Draco's lap and into Harry's and snuggled against him, clutching his robes. Harry gently pulled the three year old closer and dropped a kiss on the top of his head, while whispering soothing words.  
  
Draco watched this with fascination, quirking an eyebrow and smirking when Harry looked up at him again.  
  
'What?' Harry mouthed. The look Draco was giving him was irritating to say the least. He failed to see what could possibly be so funny. When he realized he wasn't going to get an answer he returned his attention to Severus who had fallen asleep on his lap. Harry sighed and slowly started rubbing small circles on the little boys back, standing slowly so not to wake him.  
  
"Some help you turned out to be." Harry muttered as he breezed past Draco on his way out the door. "And if you ever decide to tell me what is so funny you know where to find me."  
  
Hermione met up with Harry outside of his room.  
  
"So?" She asked.  
  
"Still not sure what was wrong," He sighed. "And Draco was absolutely no help."  
  
"Is he ever?" Hermione asked sarcastically.  
  
"I don't know I don't work with him everyday." Harry said. He said the password to his room and allowed Hermione to enter before him. Upon entering Harry set Severus onto the floor and smiled.  
  
"Why don't you go play by yourself for a bit." Severus nodded happily and skipped off to the toy chest against the wall. Hermione watched Severus play with the plastic animals for a minute before returning her attention to Harry.  
  
"You're an idiot." Hermione said placing her books on the side table.  
  
"Beg your pardon," Harry said astonished.  
  
"You're an idiot, Potter," Hermione reiterated. "I warned you to not become to attached to him. You do realize no matter what you do here he's still going to hate you once he's back to himself again."  
  
Harry scowled and crossed his arms. "I know that," He said irritably. His face softened as he heard Severus laugh loudly and make a loud booming noise. "I know."  
  
"You're a fool," She said affectionately, slinging an arm around him and pulling him into a one arm embrace. "A sentimental fool."  
  
Harry beamed and kissed her cheek. She blushed slightly and grinned. She happened to glance at the clock on the wall and gasped.  
  
"I'm sorry, Harry." She said, quickly grabbing her books off the table. "I've got to go."  
  
She hugged him again before disappearing from the room.  
  
"Har-wy, come play." Severus called pulling out some blocks from the chest.  
  
Harry smiled brightly as he walked over to him. "What are we playing?" He asked sitting next to him.  
  
Severus looked thoughtful. "HIDE AND SEEK!"  
  
Harry blinked in surprise, but hid his eyes and started counting. "1...2...3..." He opened his eyes slightly and peered around the room trying to catch sight of where Severus was heading.  
  
"No peaking."  
  
Harry laughed and resumed counting. "5...6...7...8...9...10! Ready or not here I come." He shouted, finally taking a good look around the room.  
  
A/N: Ok this is incredibly short but, I'm trying to make you happy by showing that I am indeed still alive and I am writing this story. Yea ok I realize this just kinda stops but it stops in an ok place...I hope. I'm horrible I've been reading more fan fiction then writing it. And I'm reading the more interesting pairings as well....no excuse. Just please don't hurt me.  
  
Please review! 


	5. Disgace

**Disclaimer: Please see previous chapters**

**A/N: EEEEE I'm so close to one hundred reveiws its not even funny. So with that said I'd like to thank all those people who have brought me so close to that magic number. But I might get in trouble with so I shall refrain from answering them personally.**

**So with out Further ado...Chapter 5**

Harry turned around slowly looking for possible hiding spots. The one that struck him as most likely was behind the couch. He made thoughtful noises as he quietly made his way over to the couch.

Leaning over the couch he shouted, "Gotcha!" Only to find that Severus wasn't there.

Harry straightened up now thoroughly puzzled. Casting another cursory look around the room he determined that there was no other possible place for Severus to be and continued into the bedroom.

Feeling increasingly anxious, he quickly looked under the bed, the crib, and behind the bureau and nightstand. There was no sign that anybody had been in the bedroom since that morning. Harry frowned and set off into the bathroom. He proceeded to check in every cabinet and the shower before making a quick exit. The anxiousness from before was quickly becoming fear and as he double checked the common room it became a full out panic.

"Sev!" Harry yelled running between the rooms just be sure. "Sev, come out this isn't funny."

He strained to hear if there was a response. The moment he was sure one wasn't coming he bolted from the room and into the corridor. Scanning up and down it he saw no one coming and ran straight to the

Slytherin common room and started banging on the wall where he knew the entrance to be.

"Open up!" He screamed, beating his fists against the wall. "Draco! Draco, please open the Goddamn door!"

The wall slid open to emptiness and Harry taking this as a sign to come in quickly entered the room.

Draco was sprawled out on the couch with a text book on his lap.

Harry rushed over to the couch, flung himself onto Draco and started sobbing.

"I lost him Dray." Harry sobbed. "He was there one minute and then he was gone."

Draco held his sobbing friend waiting for the sobs to subside.

"Shh, Harry calm down. Now tell me exactly what happened."

"He's gone." Harry moaned miserably.

"Severus?"

Harry managed to glare. "Who else would be gone?"

Draco shrugged. "Are you sure you checked everywhere."

"Yes. I checked in every room at least 10 times."

"Did you check the map?"

Harry gaped. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

"Yes," Draco said earning another glare, "But a very cute one."

"Oh shut up." Harry sat up and threw a pillow at his head, but Draco ducked just in time.

Draco stood up then extended a hand to Harry. "Shall we go?"

Harry nodded then quickly took the offered hand and hoisted himself off the couch.

To say Hermione was surprised to see Severus in the Great Hall by himself was an understatement.

"Mina!" said Severus as he ran towards her arms outstretched. Hermione bent over and lifted him off the ground and placed him on the bench next to her.

"What on earth are you doing here?" She asked. "And where's Harry?"

"Lookin." He replied picking up a discarded quill.

Hermione snatched the quill away before he had a chance to protest. "Looking for what?" Severus lunged for the confiscated quill. "Severus, answer me." She said sternly. He stopped reaching for the quill and pouted.

"Give me the feafer." He whined.

"No," came the harsh reply. Hermione was beginning to wish that Harry would just get back.

"Pease." he begged making puppy dog eyes. Normally the look would have gotten him anything but it didn't seem to be working on Hermione.

"Severus William Snape, you tell me why you're here without Harry this instant." She said angrily, before reaching out for him.

Severus started whimpering and backed away from her quickly and fell onto the floor before scurrying under the Ravenclaw table.

Harry was relieved to see that Severus was in the Great Hall with Hermione. But as he watched the two

labeled dots interact he grew more concerned as Severus' dot seemed to jump from what he knew to be

Gryffindor table to Ravenclaw. Draco who had been looking over his shoulder was sharing the same confused expression.

"Come on then." Harry said, stuffing the map into his back pocket.

Harry immediately knew where Severus was. Almost half the students in the hall were attempting to coax him out from under Ravenclaw's table. Spotting Hermione wasn't an easy task, but he eventually found her in the throng of people.

He kneeled down next to her "What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "One minute he was fine the next he was under this table crying."

Harry frowned. "You're sure you have no idea why?"

She nodded. "I'm glad you're here though, everyone's been trying the hardest to get him out."

Harry nodded then turned his attention to the throng surrounding the table. Standing up to make himself known, he purposefully made his way through the crowd. Finally catching on, his peers left a path to the table. Getting back down onto his knees he gazed under the table at the shaking three year old.

"Sev." He whispered. The little boy didn't seem to hear. Not sure what he was going to do, he crawled under the table and sat in front of him. "Sev," he tried again. This time he got a response.

"Harry," he wailed, flinging himself into Harry's lap, burying his head in Harry's robes. Harry gently rocked the little boy in his arms trying to get him to calm down. Looking up, he saw both Draco and Hermione starring worriedly at them.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I don't know." Harry answered truthfully, as he continued to hold the little boy in his arms.

Even hours after the Great Hall incident no one knew why Severus had reacted like he did. Harry had all but given up on ever learning what was wrong and had taken up residence on his couch, when Severus appeared in front of him, with Izzy in a death grip. Harry immediately scooted backwards leaving enough space for Severus to lay down next to him, and helped him up. Severus quickly snuggled into Harry and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Harry chuckled lightly. He half wished Colin and his camera was around to get a picture of this.

"Daddy hates me." Severus said around his thumb. Harry didn't quite know how to respond to the abrupt remark.

"Why do you think that?" asked Harry. He gently hugged the little boy closer.

"He says so." Severus said quietly.

Harry furrowed his brow. "Why does he say that?" He asked carefully not wanting to upset him.

"I'm a disgace."

Harry propped himself up on an elbow. "Do you think that?"

"No." Came the hushed reply. Harry leaned over and kissed the little boys temple.

"Would you like me to read you a story?" Harry asked deciding it was time to change that subject.

"Yes pwease."

****

**Please review!**


	6. Quidditch Practice

**A/N: For the record. I love you people you truly make my day I'm well over 100 reviews and this is only the 6th chapter. Basking in the love! So on that note hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

"He told you that?" Hermione asked, looking around the corner into Harry's bedroom. Severus was playing with his stuffed bear. Or maybe was wrestling with the bear would be a better way to put it.

She had shown up at their room about a half hour ago to find out if everything was alright. Harry had recounted the little heart to heart between himself and the toddler and Hermione was appalled. She just couldn't seem to grasp how someone's parent could say such a mean thing to a three year old.

"Yeah, he did." said Harry. He lifted his cup to his lips and took a small sip of the steamy liquid.

"Oh poor Severus." Hermione said sadly, before returning to her homework.

Harry nodded and picked up the Daily Prophet. Thankfully Voldemort and his band of merry death eaters were being wonderfully silent. Though reflecting on that thought their silence was never a good thing. Whatever they were planning they were doing an awfully good job of hiding it. He turned the page of the paper and dropped it in disgust. Another lovely article about his love life was mocking him from the page. "Boy-Who-Lived Gay?" He sighed in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, looking up from her Arithmancy essay.

"Death Eaters."

She bit her bottom lip. "Another attack?"

"Lack there of," he stated.

Hermione knitted her brow. "How's that a bad thing?"

"It means they're planning something," he said unconsciously rubbing his scar. "Not that that's a bad thing." He added seeing the disbelieving look on Hermione's face. "It's just...I don't know...worrying I suppose."

Hermione reached across the table and took his hand in hers. She smiled warmly and squeezed it, before letting go.

"Also this," He said, tossing the paper across the table for her to see. She daintily picked up the paper and scanned the article. She grimaced and carefully folded the paper before tossing into the waste bin behind her.

"Harry?"

Harry looked across the room and saw Severus staring at him funnily. He blinked a couple of times trying to figure out what the three year old was wearing. He had the socks Dobby had sewn for Harry last Christmas on, over the outside of a pair of green striped pants, that Harry noticed were on backwards much to his amusement. Then to top it off he was wearing a canary yellow shirt with dragon on the front.

Harry chuckled.

"Dress yourself did you?" Hermione asked shoving the offending article to the back of her brain to simmer. She giggled as he spun in a rapid circle to show off his handy work.

"Yup!" Severus said excitedly, running over to them.

Harry leaned over and picked up the vibrant boy, placing him on his lap. Immediately Severus reached across the table, grabbed a cookie off the plate in between Harry and Hermione and began munching on it happily.

Hermione glanced at her watch and gasped. "Harry, you've got to get going." Seeing the bewildered look she rolled her eyes. "Quidditch? You know the game where you chase a small golden winged ball and perform death defying stunts that one of these days will land you in the hospital wing in a coma from brain trauma. Ring any bells, captain?"

He groaned. "Ron's going to flay me alive."

She grinned evilly. "Well, if he tries anything you could always make him do laps."

"What's so hard about that?" He interjected.

"Muggle style," she finished.

Harry laughed.

"Whas funny?" Severus asked curiously.

"We're just teasing Ron." Harry answered placing him back on the ground before running into the bedroom to fetch his broom. He emerged a minute later broom in hand.

"Wish me luck." He said as he leaned over and kissed Severus on top of the head. Severus reached up and brushed the kiss off furiously, but the effect was lost since he was smiling like a loon.

"Luck," said Hermione, kissing him on the cheek. Harry grinned and ran out of the portrait hole.

Severus grinned up at Hermione who was shaking her head affectionately at Harry's hasty exit.

"So." She said sitting down on the carpet, pulling Severus down onto her lap. "What do you want to do?"

"I wanna play wit Dwaco."

Hermione nodded. "Let's go see where he is shall we?"

Severus nodded and jumped out of Hermione's lap. "Come on," he said tugging on her hand as she stood up.

10 minutes later they found Draco sitting out in the stands observing Gryffindor's team practice. He smiled and waved when he saw them coming towards him.

"Dwaco!" Severus squealed before running up the steps to him. Draco had to try hard not to laugh as the little boy kept tripping over his own feet as he ran. Finally, he made it all the way up to Draco a huge smile on his face. Draco extended a hand which he eagerly grasped as they walked through the rows and finally sat down in the middle. Hermione joining them shortly after.

"Did you get dressed by yourself?" Draco asked amusedly, taking in the odd assembly of clothing.

"Yup!" Severus said proudly. Draco ruffled his hair (which he immediately started to flatten again once the hand was removed) before turning his attention back onto the practice.

"You wouldn't be trying to steal our teams strategy would you?"

Draco gave her a look that said 'who me?'. He put a hand over his heart and wobbled a bit. "You wound me." he said teasingly. "Plus, your team has no strategy."

"Of course we do." Hermione said indignantly.

"No. You don't." He said, following Harry's progress around the pitch with his eyes. "I have been to every single one of your teams practices this year and never once has anything even close to a strategy been put into practice. Your entire team depends solely on Harry."

"That's absurd." Hermione exclaimed.

"It's not." He said watching Harry as he went into another dive. "They pass the quaffle around a bit smack the bludgers into space and watch Harry as he goes into dive after dive, sharp turn after sharp turn. If he wasn't the best seeker in the school right now your _team _would never win a single game."

Hermione looked askance at him. "You do just realize you just admitted that Harry was better then you."

"If you tell anyone I said that-"

"You'll what Draco?" she asked sweetly.

"Ugh, never mind. Just forget it." He said.

Severus was getting bored. Being bored and being three does not bode well. So, he decided he wanted a closer look, maybe then he would be less bored. Hermione and Draco were to busy watching Harry as he shot up into the sky to notice Severus inch closer to the edge of the stands. Severus placed his hands on the railing and stood on tip toe to look over. The railing was to high up to see much of anything and he really wanted to see. He tightened his grip on the top rail and climbed up onto the first rail. He leaned over the edge and looked down at the ground that was 30 feet away. It was then that the snitch flew past. He reached out for it and his hand brushed it. He upset his balance and toppled over the edge.

Hermione shrieked as she saw the soles of Severus's shoes go flying over the railing. She and Draco rushed over to the edge as they watched the three year old careen towards the ground.

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed frantically. Harry who had been in hot pursuit of the snitch had watched in shock as Severus had flopped over the edge of the railing. He urged his Firebolt to go faster and headed into a steep dive. He pulled his broom into a complete stop 4 feet from the ground and held his arms out. Severus fell neatly into his arms, face white as a sheet.

Harry was too stunned by what had just happened to do more then just hold the little boy close to him. He could feel shudders race through Severus's body as he held him. Looking up he saw two terrified faces staring down at him. His blood boiled. What the hell had they been doing that they couldn't keep a good eye on Sev? He scowled in their direction and was slightly satisfied when he saw Hermione wince. He gently guided his broom up to the stands, keeping a tight grip on Severus.

"What the hell was that!?" He screamed in their faces. His team was floating beside him, watching the scene in amazement. "What was so important that you just couldn't keep an eye on him?"

Hermione looked down, terribly ashamed of herself. She couldn't even meet Harry's eyes as he handed her the trembling child.

"I'm going to go take a shower." He said coldly signaling the end of practice.

**A/N: Ok I know I'm not being to friendly to Sev right now what with the terrible memories and the falling out of the stands. Yea and guess what he turns 4 in the next chapter. Finally huh? Yea well you're not gonna like what I do to both Harry and Sev next chapter....or Draco for that matter. Quick someone stop me I'm abusing my characters.**

**Please review!**


	7. Pain

**A/N: Yes, I sorta editted out a A/N in here so now I feel I shall justify why it was even there in the first place. A few people a little while back reviewed saying little kids didn't like to snuggle which I thought was extremely odd since Iw as taking child development at the time and we were running a preschool and whenever it was story time the kids were all in our laps...so I got rid of it. And yes I know that took some time I've just been lazy.**

Hermione and Draco sat silently on the couch in Harry's room, Severus securely ensconced between the two of them feeling severely put out and not only a little bit shaken up, each lost in his or her own thoughts.

"Mina?"

"Hm?" Hermione asked, looking down at the toddler squished in between her and Draco.

"Is Harry mad?"

She sighed and nodded her head. "But not at you sweetie."

"No, not at you" Harry said deliberately as he entered the room. He took off his gloves and tossed them onto the table and turned towards them eyes flashing. "I'm mad at them."

Draco gulped and shrunk back against the couch.

Severus yawned completely oblivious to the tension in the room. "Harry not mad at me?"

Harry shook his head 'no' and helped him off the couch. Taking his small hand in his he led him into the bedroom and placed him in his crib.

"Nap time." Harry said as enthusiastically as he could considering the circumstances, quickly helping Severus out of his dirty clothes. He threw them into a corner before rapidly pulling pajamas onto Severus. Kissing his forehead, Harry left the room, jarring the door a bit so he could hear what was going on. He suddenly felt exhausted and wished he could just curl up on his own bed and fall asleep. But he kept on walking knowing he'd have to do this now before he didn't have enough anger to.

Hermione saw him reenter and immediately launched into an explanation. "Harry, I-"

He held up a hand to stop the explanations. "I don't want to hear excuses Hermione." he said disappointedly. "He's three. I mean I know he's a sneaky conniving three year old, but he's just three. Ever heard of constant supervision? I thought you were more responsible then that."

Draco was distressed. "But Harry-"

"Didn't I say no?" he asked exhaustedly. He waved his hand dismissively towards the exit. "Just go."

Hermione frowned at him, looking like there was something she wanted to add, but one stern look from him got her to hastily retreat. She'd talk to him later, when he'd had time to pull himself back together. Harry then turned his glare onto Draco who quietly told him good night before leaving.

With both of them finally gone Harry got to do the one thing he had been wanting to do for the last 5 minutes. He flopped down onto the couch and sighed contentedly.

"Harry?"

Harry lifted his head and looked at the door. There not too unsurprisingly stood Sev, teddy bear firmly ensconced in his arms, thumb in his mouth, and hair sticking up wildly. He smiled and opened his arms.

Severus immediately ran forward into the waiting arms allowing himself to be picked up and tucked carefully next to Harry. He burrowed against Harry's chest and sighed contentedly.

"You ok?" Harry asked, gently brushing an errant lock of hair out of the three year olds eyes.

Sev lifted his eyes to meet Harry's. He sniffled and stuck his thumb back into his mouth.

Harry smiled and tenderly ran his fingers through the toddlers hair. "Bad dream?"

He nodded and move if possible closer to the warm body that was holding him. All he wanted to do was fall back to sleep. The fingers running through his hair along with the soft rumbling of comforting words slowly lulled him back to sleep.

Chuckling lightly, Harry leaned over and brushed a soft kiss on the top of Severus's head. He knew the toddler was sleepy and is it were so was he. Careful not to wake him back up, Harry scooped him up off the couch and went back into the bedroom laying him down on the bed. Not stopping he made his way to the dresser and changed out of his clothes and into pajamas.

Harry turned and stopped at the foot of his bed. Cocking his head to the side, he silently observed the slumbering form of Severus Snape. He wasn't sure what to make of him anymore. Deciding that now wasn't the greatest time to think about this, he sat down on the edge of the bed and tugged off his socks. Rolling onto his side, he threw the blanket over himself and Sev and shortly fell asleep.

Quidditch. The one thing Harry knew he was the best at. Today's game was one of the most hyped of the year. The Slytherin versus Gryffindor game. He ran a hand through his hair impatiently and looked over his team.

"You ready?" He asked them.

They all nodded and stood up. They all knew that was all the prep they were going to get from their captain, but it was truly all that was needed.

"Good." He said before leaving the Gryffindor changing room. His team fell in behind him as the made their way onto the pitch. Coming from the opposite direction he saw the Slytherin team headed up by Draco enter from the other side.

"Captain's shake hands." Madame Hooch said, watching to make sure the two boys didn't try to pull something underneath her nose. But much to her surprise they simply clasped hands.

"Good luck Harry." Draco said amiably.

"Luck," Harry replied, smirking.

The two teenagers turned towards the gob smacked ref and laughed.

"Are you alright, Madame Hooch?" Harry asked innocently.

She nodded once, the blew her whistle. Harry and Draco winced since they hadn't had enough time to back off before she had done so. Quickly they mounted their broomsticks and flew up above their team mates.

Harry immediately started scanning the crowds looking for familiar faces. He wasn't sure why he was doing this but he knew that something was going to happen and whatever it was it wouldn't be good.

Looking around the Gryffindor stands he saw Hermione frantically trying to get his attention a hysterically screaming Severus in her arms. The little boy doubled up in pain and he watched as Hermione sat down on the bench attempting in vain to find out what was wrong. Before Harry could even try to fathom what had been causing the now 4 year old pain, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen as if someone had punched him hard. He doubled up on his broom as the pain radiated through him. As the pain grew stronger, his vision clouded up, screeching in pain he clutched at his stomach.

Draco who had been right next to him watched in shock as his best friend screamed out in pain.

Cautiously he flew as close to Harry's broom as he could get. There was no faking the pain being exhibited and he knew he had to get Harry safely to the ground before he fell off his broom. Not even thinking he grabbed Harry and hauled him over onto his own broom. He heard the crowds abrupt change in demeanor, but he didn't care. He needed to get Harry to the ground and fast. Carefully he began the descent to the ground.

"Dray, wait." Harry rasped out, still clutching at his throbbing stomach wishing the pain would stop. "Need…Sev...get Sev."

Draco sighed and looked up to the Gryffindor stand. A large gap had formed in the middle. Even before he was level with the stand he knew why it was formed. Flying over the head of the petrified spectators he stopped in front of a sobbing Hermione and the unconscious four year old.

Harry instantaneously grabbed the unconscious form from Hermione and clutched him compulsively to his chest. There was nothing for it but the contact seemed to diminish the pain, finally allowing him to think.

"Dray," he whispered, loosening his grip a bit on Sev. "Hospital wing."

Draco nodded and took off towards the castle, ignoring all the shouts and questions that followed him out of the pitch.

Landing just outside the front steps, Harry helped Harry off the broom and led them inside and into the Hospital wing.

"Madame Pomfrey!" Draco yelled, into the silent room.

"What is it Mr. Malfoy?" Madame Pomfrey said in irritation.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Someone needs your assistance."

She frowned and left her office. Once in the main part of the wing she gasped as she saw the semi conscious form of Harry holding the unconscious form of Severus.

"What happened," She asked.

Draco shrugged, not really sure himself, before squeezing Harry's shoulder and leaving them to Madame Pomfrey's care.

"What did you do this time Mr. Potter?" She asked affectionately.

Harry shrugged and attempted to grin sheepishly, but all he managed to do was sway dangerously.

Madame Pomfrey frowned and helped Harry onto a bed and took Severus away from him. Almost instantly the pain that had dulled somewhat came back full force and he curled up into a ball. Seeing Harry, look pleadingly at her she handed back the unconscious 4 year old and left the two of them alone. Determined to find Dumbledore and tell him what happened she shut the door and locked it behind her.

**A/N: well what did you think. Yes I know it's short again but honestly I'm not sure where I'm heading with this story although I know theres only 4 chapters left before its done. So yay!**

**Please Review!**


	8. Figuring it out

**A/N:...wow...How long has it been? Looks back through Calender and gulps Oh boy. 5 months tugs at shirt collar sorry bout that folks. Honestly I had every intention of finsishing this like last year but obviously thats all gone to hell now. Um...yeah...Well, I guess now is an excellent time to thank every singel person who has been reviewng telling me that they still like this story. I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter. **

Harry clung to Severus desperately. His jumbled thoughts darted unremittingly around in his head as he tried to piece together just where he had gone wrong that day. Severus shifted around in his arms so he was facing him, finally having woken back up.

"Harwy?"

"Yeah Sev?" Harry asked, brushing a stray lock of hair off of Severus' face.

"I'm scareded.," he said in a tiny voice.

Harry sighed and hugged the little boy closer. "I know you are sweetie."

"Want it to stwop," he moaned, burying his face in the folds of Harry's Quidditch robes.

Harry gently stroked his hair, trying to ignore the sharp spike in pain. "I do to."

After what seemed like an eternity the pain ceased. Harry still felt uneasy and continued to run his fingers soothingly through Sev's hair. He was idly aware of the fact that Severus had either fallen asleep or had passed out moments after the pain had abruptly ceased, but there was nothing he could do about it. He heard the doors to the wing open, looked over his shoulder and saw the headmaster enter quickly followed by Madame Pomfrey.

The nurse came bustling over and immediately began checking him out, finding absolutely nothing wrong with him she sighed and then checked over Severus to find the same results.

"How are you feeling my boy," Dumbledore asked sitting down next to the bed. Harry rolled over so he was facing the headmaster.

"Felt better," he mumbled, trying to readjust his robes that were momentarily chocking him. He realized that Severus hadn't let go of his robes when he had fallen asleep, so as gently as Harry could, he lifted the slumbering form and hauled him over to the other side of him, repositioning Severus so he'd be more comfortable.

Dumbledore chuckled softly. "And how is young Severus."

Harry sighed. "No idea, he just fell asleep once the pain left." Harry raised his eyes till they met the old man's. "What was it?"

"I have a theory," he said, clasping his hands together. "Remember the meeting where I cast the spell on you so some of the pain from Severus would be transferred to you?" Harry nodded. "Well, I believe that Voldemort was calling his followers and since Severus did not show he decided to punish him."

Harry gasped. "So that's why it seemed unending."

"In theory, yes."

"Oh boy."

Dumbledore sat down next to him and gazed out the window. "Oh boy indeed."

* * *

"Harry!" Harry's eyes flew open as someone jumped on his stomach.

He groaned. Sure he was happy to see Severus up and about, but to see him up and about in the middle of the night was another thing.

Severus straddled Harry's stomach and forcefully shoved the emerald eyed boy's glasses back on his face, crookedly. Harry smiled slightly and readjusted them finally able to get a good look at the 4 year old who was currently staring intently at him, no more then 5 inches from his face.

"Yous better yet?" he asked, cocking his head to the side expectantly.

Harry leaned up against his elbows, forcing Severus off his stomach. Severus grinned manically as he rolled head over heel to the end of the bed.

"Get back over here you little monster." Harry affectionately said, pulling Severus back next to him. "Now how long have you been up?"

The little boy covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head wildly. Harry stared at him with amusement. Gently, he removed the hand that covered Severus' mouth. Then unexpectedly Severus grabbed Harry's wrist and licked his hand.

Harry gaped at his now moist hand, then slowly moved his gaze over to Severus, who had dived under the covers and was now peering back out at him fearfully. The obvious disgust at what Sev had just done vanished instantaneously. There was no faking the fear that was radiating off the youth. Carefully and cautiously, Harry lowered his head so he was looking directly into Severus' onyx eyes.

"Sev," was all Harry needed to say before he found himself with a lap full of Snape. The little boy wrapped his arms around Harry's waist and buried his head against his chest. Severus was shaking so hard Harry began to fear he was having a seizure. "What's wrong Sev?"

"You not gonna make me pay?"

Harry stared out at the wall across the ward. "Why would I do that sweetie?"

"Because you hate me." Severus said, his voice muffled by the blankets.

"I never said that." Harry argued.

Severus bowed his head. "Yes, you did. You saided it to Ron and Mina and Dwaco and the west of the Gwyffdors."

"Oh," Harry muttered sadly. "I'm guessing that hurt to hear huh?"

The little boy nodded his head vigorously. "See yous don't likes me."

"If you only knew," he said, gently running his fingers through the matted hair. He pulled a bit at a knot he found in it and was rewarded by a slap on the wrist.

"Stwop it," Severus exclaimed covering his hair with his arms. "Don't touch."

Harry laughed. "Fine. I won't touch." He stared ahead for a few seconds before shifting his gaze back to Sev's head. His hand hovered over the soft black hair of the four year old. Slowly, he placed his hand on top of Severus' head and began to stroke his hair.

Severus tensed slightly, before relaxing against Harry's side sticking his thumb back in his mouth.

"Harwy?" He asked tiredly.

"Yes?"

Sev snuggled closer, one of his small hands resting on Harry's stomach. "G'night."

Harry's hand paused, before resuming it's slow pace through the little boy's hair. "Night, Sev."

**A/N: Please don't hurt me! hides There should have been more here and I know that now but I'm slowly running out of ideas...wait...I just had a thought...well any ideas would be muchly appreciated. Anything you'd like to see. Any romance between minor characters and so on. Or just anything you'd like to see Harry and Sev say or do. Would be most helpful.**

**Please review!**


	9. Memory Relapse

**A/N: Howdy all. Long time no update huh? Well, here it is by popular er...begging :) I'd like to thank you peeps for being so supportive even though I'm not very dependable on the updates.**

"POTTER!"

Harry leapt out of the bed in shock, wildly looking around before spying Sev glaring at him from the bed.

"What do you think you were doing!" He spat angrily.

Harry shook his head. "I was sleeping."

"Do you think this is funny?" Sev hissed, struggling to get out of the bed. He started stalking towards him. "Did your pet wolf set you up to do this?" He looked down. "And what the bloody hell did you do to me?"

Well, this is different, Harry mused, backing away slowly from the angry four year old. Dumbledore had said nothing about him thinking he was a different person. All he had been told was Sev would be getting memories back. But what if….he looked down to see Sev sneering at him.

"Sev?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"And another thing Potter if you so much as lay one more finger on me I will go straight to Dumbledore." He jabbed Harry's leg to prove he was serious, but Harry could only shake his head in amusement. Obviously, Sev thought he was poking him in the chest not the leg.

Severus wobbled slightly before crashing forward. Harry quickly caught him up in his arms before he could hit the ground.

He looked up at Harry with innocent eyes. "Harwy?" He asked drowsily.

Harry sighed, smiling ruefully, "Mornin kid."

"Harwy, what's wrong?"

He shook his head depositing the five year old on the bed. "How are you?"

Severus cocked his head to the side, before crying out, "She didn' do it, Fadder!"

There was a pause before Severus curled up into a ball and started rocking back and forth. Harry was immediately on the bed and pulling him into a hug. But nothing could distract the little boy from whatever he was seeing.

"Momma." He asked shakily, reaching forth with his hand, then jerking it back as if stung. "Momma, wake up." He pleaded, struggling out of Harry's arms and crawling over to the edge of the bed, Harry grabbed him back before he toppled off the bed. "WAKE UP!" He screamed, shaking the invisible person.

The shaking lessened and he burst out into tears. "Momma, why won't you wake up?" Sev sobbed, still clinging to the invisible woman.

Harry felt his heart breaking for the small child as he tried to snap Sev out of it by shaking him gently. All this move accomplished was another round of tears from the little tyke and they didn't seem to want to stop. Harry could do little more than hold Sev closely and wait for them to stop.

"Harwy." Came the muffled sniffle. Harry held Severus away from him so the little onyx eyed boy could see him properly. "Momma won't wake up." His bottom lip quivered and Harry knew the five year old was about to go off on another crying jag if he didn't do something to prevent it and now.

Harry gently twirled Sev's longish hair between his fingers all the while trying to think up a good reason why the boy's mother wouldn't be waking up ever again. And he was coming up entirely too short on ideas. He could see Sev's eyes beginning to water and he blurted out the first thing that came to him mind.

"Sweetie, your mommy won't wake up." It was a bad answer, but it was truthful. Still, Harry couldn't help but wonder what the middle aged Snape would think of that answer. He'd probably snort and mutter something about his stupidity, but it didn't matter because Severus calmed down and looked up at him pitifully.

"What do you mean?" Severus asked, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "Yes, she will."

Harry shook his head. "No, she won't."

It was said so quietly that Harry almost missed it. "She has to."

Harry drew the five year old close and just held him.

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione called, running down the hallway to catch up to him. "Harry wait up!" She growled when he seemed to speed up and rounded a corner. "Harry, will you slow down?" She turned the corner and gasped. Harry was no where to be seen. She sighed and leaned against the wall to catch her breath and yelped when the wall suddenly wasn't solid anymore. 

Soft laughter reached her ears as she stood up. It wasn't amused laughter either it was mocking, harsh. "Potter, I warned you what would happen if you came near me." Hermione started to follow the voice and saw Harry struggling to keep a hold on Severus who was twisting and turning in his grasp.

The little boy snorted derisively. "I'm so afraid."

Finally he slumped down in Harry's arms and asked in the very recognizable tone. "Where are we?"

Harry met Hermione's confused stare with an eye roll, before transferring his gaze back to the five year old. "We're going back to our rooms, ok?"

"OKs."

Hermione bit her lip and sidled up next to Harry who had sagged against the wall of the secret passageway.

"Has that been happening all day?" She asked, recognizing the memories for what they were.

Harry nodded, turning tiredly to face her. "Ever since he woke up. Even when he sleeps he gets them and none of them have been good either."

Severus hugged Hermione around the legs and looked up at her with a big smile. Hermione ruffled his hair distractedly. "None have been good?"

"None." Harry confirmed.

She hummed in puzzlement, gazing down at the five year old who seemed to be falling asleep against her legs. Harry seemed to be noticing this too. He leaned over and picked up Severus who didn't seem to process what had happened.

"Has he gotten any sleep?" She asked, following Harry as he led her through the twisty path.

"Not since last night." He answered worriedly, "And then it was only because his body couldn't handle the pain and shut itself down."

"Well, he is five." Hermione pointed out. "Maybe he's just being stubborn."

"You misunderstood me." Harry said, walking through what looked like another completely solid wall. Hermione paused in hesitation, but she didn't get much of a chance to steel herself when a hand reached through and pulled her through.

Harry looked at her with amusement and with a twirl of his robes started off towards his rooms. Once they were inside them Harry turned to address Hermione who had seated herself on the couch. Severus immediately ran off into the bedroom muttering something about a potion he left waiting for him.

"I know why he hates the dungeons." He announced sitting down next to her. She looked at him inquisitively, waiting for him to say more. "His father thought it was 'fitting' to have him be the unwilling participant in many of his insane potion concoctions."

Hermione stared at him incredulously. "But then why-?

"Why did he become a Potions Master?" Harry supplied.

She nodded. Harry frowned in contemplation. "I honestly have no idea." He answered reluctantly. "I'd like to say it was because he wanted to make helpful potions and prove he wasn't his father, but that sounds too farfetched and much too Gryffindor-ish."

"I agree." She conceded. "It would be so much easier if we could just ask him."

"Maybe we can." Harry mused looking at the door to their bedroom.

"Dumbledore said he'd get back the memories; he never said they couldn't return with some prompting."

"Are you sure you wish to do that?"

"No." Harry agreed. "But I need to check up on him anyways. Dumbledore warned me that his past was tumultuous at best."

"Should I go?" She asked, already standing.

Harry considered it for a moment. "Can you get Draco?"

"Of course, but why?" She asked confusion clearly written across her face.

"I have a suspicion about something, but before I go about finding the truth I need his opinion."

"All right, Harry." She gave him a brief hug before disappearing.

Harry sighed and slumped back in his chair. He had been prepared for the return of the memories, but not that many in such a short span of time. He scowled. The worst bit was he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't even help the little boy sort them out because seemingly the second they came back Severus didn't remember them again, or maybe he just refused to acknowledge them. Harry thought back to that morning when Sev had broken down after the memory of his mother's death and decided that while Severus obviously remembered them, he shoved them down violently, repressing them.

That last thought worried him more than any other. He knew firsthand what happened when you retained your feelings then squashed them down brutally. His mind flashed to his fifth year when he had destroyed a great deal of Dumbledore's office.

"Harwy?"

Harry turned in his chair to see the five year old exit the bedroom, angry red scratch marks covered his left forearm and his face was tear stained. His onyx eyes conveyed defeat.

"Oh, Sev." Harry murmured, his voice conveyed his sadness for the situation as he climbed out of the chair and positioned himself on the ground. Without hesitation, the little boy ran into his waiting arms and buried his head under Harry's chin. Harry hugged him closely rocking him and muttering nonsense to him, neither noticed when the door opened.

Draco Malfoy was accustomed to many sights having spent most of his life around dark magic. Yet, none of that prepared him for the tableau spread out in front of him. Never in his seventeen years of existence could he recall seeing his godfather crying. He was unsure of how to handle the situation, Harry was staring off in space, but still murmuring unintelligible babble to calm down the child.

Entirely uncomfortable, he took up residence on the couch waiting for either boy to notice his presence.

"Hello, Draco." Harry murmured, interrupting the inane gibbering in acknowledgement. He bent his head and brushed a kiss over the crown of Severus head, before turning to look at Draco. "Thanks for coming."

"Honestly, I thought you'd still be angry at me." He admitted ruefully. "It came as a bit of a surprise when Granger told me you wanted to speak with me."

Harry smiled faintly, his hands unconsciously running up and down the little boys back even as the crying turned into soft whimpers.

"How does Voldemort mark his followers?" Harry asked, knowing that the answer to this question was probably going to be the most important thing he would ever hear from the blonde.

Draco seemed to realize this as well as he took a few moments to collect his thoughts. "You of all people know I'm to be marked so I have gone to a few initiation ceremonies to find out what exactly it will entail." Here he shuddered. He gulped and looked at Harry almost pleadingly. "You sure you can't hide me?"

"Actually I can, but Dumbledore," He spat out the name like a curse word, "refuses to let me shelter you in any of my various properties."

"Why?"

"It's Dumbledore, need I say anything else?"

Draco shook his head. "So what do you want to know about the marks?"

"How does he call people, is it through other people's marks, or does Voldemort have his own. How exactly does he mark people? And what does he do to people who try to refuse it at first?"

"Slow down, Harry." Draco said with a small smile. "And maybe you should sit down on the couch; this might take a while."

A/N: so, what did you think good bad interesting mediocre?

Please Review!


	10. A breathe of fresh air

**A/N: I want to thank all the people who reviewed the original version of chapter ten giving me ideas of things I could add. I took those ideas and amazingly I managed to write a rough outline and even more amazingly I've been following it. And it led to this. The second longest ifnot longest chapter in the story. I hope it's just fluffy and saddening enough. Thank you again!**

Harry nodded to Draco. He saw the merit in sitting on the couch for what promised to be a lengthy conversation, but he also saw the problem with keeping Severus in the room. While Severus had gone through the marking ritual already in the poor little boys mind it was less than prudent to discuss something that was bound to be disturbing in front of a five-year-old. "Sev?" Severus didn't look up but continued to play with the laces on his shoes. "Sev?" Harry tried again. Severus stood up and crossed the room keeping his back to the confused seventh year as if he hadn't heard a word. "Come on Sev, look at me."

When the little boy still didn't reply in any form, verbally or physically Harry began to worry. He crawled across the room, ignoring Draco's comment about his backside and forcefully turned the black haired boy towards him. Severus was staring over Harry's shoulder, a look of absolute horror plastered on his face and tears pouring down hot and heavy.

Harry drew the little boy to him not sure what memory he was lost in but fairly certain he'd find out shortly enough.

"Let go of me Potter you bastard!" Angry tears continued to track down his cheeks. "You knew, you knew and you almost let me…that thing almost! Potter you are so dead! I'm going to tell Dumbledore about this." There was a pause where the little boys expression went from undisguised horror to anger to malicious glee. "I'll bet he'll expel you and Black!"

Harry let go of Severus in shock. But Severus wasn't done yet, crowing in absolute delight, "Oh yes, and I'll be rewarded greatly. Just you wait Potter. I wonder if I can get your wolf expelled as well."

"Oh Merlin Sev," he said sadly, holding the struggling boy to him, already preparing for the confusion that always followed, "don't you have at least one happy memory?"

"Harwy what's goin on?" Severus asked, tilting his head all the way back so he could see Harry's face.

Harry pressed a kiss to his forehead, "Draco and I are having a conversation."

"Drayco?" Severus squealed, bouncing out of Harry's arms and into the blonde's. Draco smiled affectionately, settling the black haired boy into his lap. The five year old snuggled up against him contentedly. Draco ran his fingers through the fine raven-hair with a bemused expression.

He looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. Harry was glad.

"You want me to come back later?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. Severus was staring at Harry oddly. Harry didn't know what to make of it. The look he was receiving was something between fear and complete curiosity. The fear was what confused him the most. What was the little boy afraid of? It wasn't a vision that he was certain of. Severus' thumb was back in his mouth. A habit, Harry realized, he might have to break before he ruined his teeth permanently. He was burrowed into Draco's side looking like the world was out to get him. Harry did not understand it all.

"Sure, I'm sorry you came down here for nothing," Harry apologized. "I do want to talk later. Tonight maybe?"

"Eight sound good?"

"Will it give you enough time before curfew?"

Draco looked at him suspiciously, "When did you start worrying about curfew?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't, but you being head boy should."

"I'm above the law," he said haughtily. "And it's my night to patrol," he added with a small grin.

Harry nodded, smiling. "I'll see you then?"

"Yes," he answered, trying to stand up. Severus wouldn't let go of the blonde. He clung to the boy like he was his mother. Harry was flummoxed and he wasn't the only one.

"Don' go," Severus whimpered fearfully. "Please?"

Draco pulled the boy onto his lap and rocked him back and forth. "I'll only be gone for a little while, Sev. Harry's here, nothings going to hurt you."

Severus looked up at him eyes wide. "You means it?"

Draco tapped him on the nose. "You bet."

Severus nodded slowly sliding off the blondes lap. "Promise?"

"I promise," Draco laughed, ruffling the black hair. "I'll be back squirt you can count on it."

Severus hugged Draco tightly, before leaping off the couch and running over to Harry. "Harry, I wanna…oh."

Draco titled his head goodbye as he exited the room leaving a rather amused Harry to deal with a suddenly hyperactive five-year-old. Harry stood up and picked Severus up off the ground. The child wrapped his arms around Harry's neck burying his head against his shoulder. Harry couldn't quite figure him out. One minute he was desolate the next he was bouncing off the walls. Harry wondered idly if all five-year-olds were like this when he felt a tongue go up the side of his neck followed by the sound of muffled giggles. Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust causing the boy to laugh even harder. Harry chuckled wanting to wipe his neck but not wanting to look angry. Severus was happy for once, and despite the fact that that was all Harry really wanted he couldn't help but worry about the five year olds frame of mind. Two traumatic memories in a span of thirty minutes and the boy was all smiles. Harry knew Severus remembered them. Now he had to get him to talk about it. This was going to be like pulling teeth.

"I wanna go outside," Severus announced, sliding out of Harry's arms to the floor. "I wanna go outside!"

"All right, we'll go outside on one condition."

Severus looked up at him curiously. "Whas that?"

"You eat a sandwich before we do."

Severus grinned, nodding enthusiastically. He happily clambered up onto one of the wooden chairs that surrounded the table and reached across to the plate that had sandwiches on them. Peanut butter and Jelly, it had become a staple in Harry's day he realized grabbing a half of one for himself. He was hungrier than he had thought. He picked up the other half and ate that as well. Severus was munching away rapidly on half of a sandwich. The peanut butter and jelly oozed out the back and plopped down on the wooden table. Harry would worry about that mess later.

"Slow down, Sev" Harry instructed waiting until Severus complied. The little boy pulled the sandwich away from his mouth revealing the peanut butter and jelly that was smeared around his mouth. Harry finished off his sandwich and licked his fingers heading over to the sink. He turned on the tap and let the water run a bit until it was warm. He then took a washrag and wet it.

Severus in the mean time had finished off his sandwich and was bouncing impatiently in his seat. He really wanted to go outside, but Harry had to wait till Severus washed his face and hands first. He pulled a chair up to the sink. Severus climbed up onto it and took the damp rag from Harry and haphazardly washed his face and hands. Harry sighed, taking the rag back and properly cleaning the onyx-eyed boy's face. Severus tried to duck the washcloth futilely.

"Can we go out now," he whined, sitting down on the chair then sliding off it. "Please Harry you promised."

"I did," Harry conceded. "But first we have to get your coat on."

"'Kay." He scampered off to the bedroom. Harry followed at a leisurely pace and waited just inside the doorway. Severus was flying around the room throwing open drawers and flinging open the closet searching for his coat. He finally found it folded on top of the closet far too high up to reach. Harry walked up behind him, lifting him up off the floor so Severus could get it himself. The little boy stretched his arms out to get the black button up jacket and smiled in triumph when he finally got it. Harry set him back down on the ground and helped Severus put the jacket on over the bulky deep blue sweater and then deftly buttoned it up. Harry then reached up on the shelf of the closet and pulled down a dark gray hat with a pompom on top and flaps that covered up the ears, forest green mittens, and a Slytherin scarf. Harry smiled bemusedly at the scarf wondering how he had missed that before. Severus scowled when he saw the objects and stuffed his hands in his pocket.

"Don' wanna," he whined, stomping his foot "Don' wanna, don' wanna, don' WANNA! "

Harry groaned. "Sev please put them on," he beseeched, attempting to get the hat on Severus' head. The little boy flailed wildly preventing Harry from getting near enough. Harry tried again and almost managed to get it on when the hat went sailing across the room, sliding under the bed. "We're not going out without these on."

"You're not wearing 'em," Severus' pointed out, pouting petulantly. "You don' wear 'em I don' wear em."

Harry exhaled noisily, "So, you'll wear the hat and mittens if I do?"

Severus nodded, biting his bottom lip, swaying back and forth. Harry turned and went to the trunk at the foot of his bed, making a big show of opening it up and digging around. He found them right away. The gloves, hat and scarf were all laid out on top of his clothing, where the house elves must have left them after they had been cleaned.

"Ah HA!" He exclaimed, noting that in Severus' infallible curiosity, the five-year-old had drifted forward until he was right behind him. Harry swung around, grabbing the little boy up in his arms, continuing the loop. Severus giggled wildly, even as Harry placed him back down on the ground. Severus looked up at him cheeks flushed and hair tousled. Harry found it amusing and ruffled Severus' hair even more. He was rather surprised when the black haired boy didn't bat his hands away like normal.

Severus was bouncing up and down impatiently on the balls of his feet. His onyx eyes alight with excitement and eagerness. Harry couldn't say no to the ear-splitting smile he was receiving. He pulled out his hat, scarf and gloves and laid them on the bed before going back to the closet again and grabbing his jacket. He figured that the winter cloaks he owned weren't really appropriate play clothes for early spring. That was also his reasoning for taking Severus' rubber rain boots out the closet as well. He placed the boots down in front of Severus with a pointed look.

"Do I halfta?" Severus asked already slipping the bright yellow boots on over his bright blue socks. Harry snorted, putting on his own black shoes. He then shrugged on his own dark blue jacket and draped the scarf over his neck. Severus looked at him for a moment before putting on the green and silver scarf as well. The scarf hung down to his ankles. Harry kneeled down in front of him and wrapped the object loosely around Severus' neck so that it only hung down to his stomach. Severus tugged at the ends of the scarf bored again, "Can we go out now?"

Harry grinned and nodded. Severus let out a shout of joy and ran out of the bedroom in a flash.

"Come on Harry, I wanna go outside!" He cried excitedly.

"Hang on, I'm coming." Harry crawled over to the bed and reached under it for the hat that had disappeared underneath.

"Hang on, I'm coming." Harry crawled over to the bed and reached under it for the hat that had disappeared underneath. He grabbed it and his and Severus' gloves before he left them room. He saw Severus glaring at him impatiently from the door. He picked his wand up from the side table and pocketed it. "All right I'm ready."

* * *

It was amazing how empty the school was on a Hogsmeade weekend. Mud squelched under their shoes as Harry chased Severus across the grassy terrain. The grounds were thawing again. Small buds were shooting out of the ground, few of which were already in bloom. They had only been out for a few minutes and already the little boy's hat and mittens had come off and were currently residing in Harry's jacket pockets. Severus stumbled and fell face first into a puddle of mud, getting covered in the sludge. Harry ran forward, skidding to a halt and knelt beside him, ignoring the wetness that seeped through the denim of his jeans against his knees from the damp grass. He soothingly helped the little boy sit up and wiped some mud off the pale face with his thumb. He was caked in it. From head to toe, the child was shaking like a leaf in the breeze. The muck dripped from the long locks of raven hair into the five-year-old's face.

"You're all right," Harry calmed, gently heaving Severus out of the mud and onto his lap. He yanked down on his sleeve and began to gently dab at the mud that still covered all of Severus' face. Severus buried his face into Harry's jacket, hot tears mixing with the mud. The shaking intensified, as the sobs grew louder. Harry ran a gloved hand over the small boy's back.

"Daddy's not gonna be happy," Severus whispered, digging his fingers securely into the jacket. "He doesn' likes mud bought inside. He says it isn' prowoper for a lil' boy to be so dirty."

Harry hugged Severus closer, and tenderly kissed the crown of his head. "Sev, is your father here?"

Severus pulled back a little ways so he could see Harry's face. "No."

Harry placed two fingers under the little boys chin keeping it tilted up. He leaned forward, resting his forehead carefully against the mud smeared five-year-old's. "Then how's he going to know?"

Severus gazed at him nervously, his eye's darting around looking for someone. "You won' tell him? Everyone one else tell'd him."

"Well, I'm not everyone else am I?" Harry smirked, kissing Sev's nose before pushing him off his lap. Severus looked up at him in bewilderment. "I thought you wanted to play?" Harry said innocently.

"I do!" cried Severus in indignation. He hopped up, clapping his hands together. Harry unfolded his legs, standing up stiffly. "I wanna play Harry!"

"Good," Harry said, clasped Severus' hand so the black-haired boy couldn't run off. "Now let's go see if we can't find someone else to join us."

"'Kay." Severus smiled up at him shyly. Harry ran a hand through his thick black hair once, before pulling out his wand. He cast a quick cleansing charm on Severus, hoping to remove at least a smidge of the mud. It worked, sort of, at least now all Harry could see the boy's true skin color. The prospect of having to give Severus a bath tonight was daunting. He hadn't forgot the violent reaction to the bath he had tried to give the boy a week ago.

* * *

Harry had been allowing Severus to stop and examine every new flower bud they happened across. Even with the enthusiasm Sev had been showing to each and every single new showing of life, Harry was getting tired of it. He thought it was adorable, but it was becoming annoying quickly. Harry stood behind Severus with as much patience as possible as the little boy babbled on about all the possible ways one could use a green shoot in potions. Harry shook his head, and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. This was too unbelievably like a potions class and while it meant some of Severus' knowledge of his art was coming back it also meant that soon more memories of Harry from Severus' adult opinion would come back as well. The first time Severus had told him he thought he hated him he had longed to erase the years of animosity that had existed between them. Take back all the hateful spiteful things he had said to the man. He wistfully ran his fingers through Severus' fine black hair. He knew he only had a few days left with the boy but he secretly wished that the boy would stay a boy just a little longer. 

"Harry, Severus!"

Harry turned around with a smile on his face. "Hey guys," he greeted, keeping one hand on the back of Severus' head. He did not want to have to go search for him if he lost sight of the boy on the grounds. "How was Hogsmeade?"

Ron chuckled, "Not as eventful as your afternoon seems to have been?" He looked them over, "What have you two been doing? Mud bathing?"

"Might as well have been," Harry admitted.

Severus tugged on his hand vying for attention. "Harry HARRY!"

Harry looked down at Severus, who was currently examining a tiny green plant. "Yes, Sev?"

"Do you tink this will work good in a potion?" He looked up at Harry in interest.

Harry didn't know how to answer that. He wasn't any good at potions so he couldn't say yes but he also couldn't say no either in good conscience. Severus obviously valued his opinion, but Harry didn't want to give the young boy the wrong answer. So instead he smiled and asked in return, "Do you think it will?"

Severus appeared to be pondering this as he looked over the sprout again. He nodded decisively. "It will."

"All right then."

Hermione smiled warmly when Severus asked her if she thought he was correct. She nodded. "It's wonderful, a perfect ingredient for a potion," she complimented. "You have an amazing eye for this."

Severus smiled ear to ear at the compliment. "I thought sos too."

Harry rubbed his forehead over his scar unthinkingly. It took all of five seconds after the action for him to realize his scar had been itching for sometime. He picked Severus up off the ground despite the protests. He knew it was only a matter of time before the pain exploded. They needed to get indoors.

"What's wrong, mate?" Ron asked inspecting Harry's pale face closely. "You look a bit peaky."

"It's nothing," he reassured, cringing as he felt pain slam into his stomach. He stumbled foreward before dropping to his knees. Severus called out in alarm as he began to cry. He clutched Harry tightly. Burying his tear streaked face against Harry's neck. Both boys cried out again as another wall of agony slammed into them. Harry's forehead was on fire. He grabbed at his scar willing the pain away distraughtly. He wanted it gone. Wanted Voldemort to go away and leave them alone. It hadn't been that long since the last calling. What could the bastard want now? Harry could no longer think as he screamed out in horror.

"_Wormtail," Voldemort hissed, "what have you dissscovered?"_

"_There is a traitor in our midst," the nervous man squeaked, quivering in fear._

"_Bring him to me."_

"_Y-yes ma-master," the man stuttered, scurrying out of the room._

_Dark laughter issued from Voldemort's mouth. "Soooo, Malfoy, you thought you could betray me."_

"_No my lord," Lucius said coolly. "I would never-"_

"_SILENCE." Voldemort hissed, "You shall pay for your disobedience. **CRUCIO**!"_

"They haven't stopped screaming!" Hermione hollered over the hoarse screaming as it raised another octave. "Harry just grabbed Severus and collapsed!"

Madame Pomfrey nodded casting a silencing charm on the two. Hermione looked flabbergasted at this action. She made to protest, but Madame Pomfrey cut her off. "It's for their own good and ours." She leaned in close her eyes flickered towards the door before meeting Hermione's concerned brown ones. "We don't want the wrong sort of people to know just how much pain they are in."

Hermione's eyes widened and she nodded. "Ma'am," she said hesitantly. "Perhaps someone should contact Malfoy."

"Why ever would we want to do that?" The matronly lady demanded.

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip, "Well, right after Harry collapsed, he shouted out the name Malfoy."

Madame Pomfrey quirked an eyebrow at the girls remark, "And you didn't tell me this sooner?"

"I didn't think it was that important," she said, and quickly added, "ma'am."

The healer huffed in annoyance, "Miss Granger, next time tell me these things. That indicates that the pain didn't start from Severus it started with Harry."

"What?" Hermione blinked owlishly trying to comprehend what the healer was telling her. She stared down at the two boys puzzled. Last time she knew for certain the pain had started from Severus and she only thought Harry was having a vision and nothing more. Now, she frowned looking between Harry and Severus, Harry was the trigger and Severus felt the pain second. "Harry's vision's don't affect other people."

"That is true Miss Granger, normally."

Hermione sighed. She could feel a headache forming just behind her temples. "And this is not normally?" she asked.

Madame Pomfrey leveled a glare at the brunette and in clipped tones replied, "No, Dumbledore placed a spell to transfer pain from one to the other, knowing that Voldemort would be displeased with Severus."

"Harry never said anything," Hermione said, shaking her head in amazement.

Madame Pomfrey patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "He wouldn't have."

* * *

Hermione had been sitting on the same wooden chair for an hour, just waiting. About a half an hour ago she had leaned forward so her elbows were resting on the bed. The comfortable postion allowed her to see both the door and the two boys lying on the bed Her head was currently resting on her arms. Neither Harry nor Severus had shown any signs of waking yet and Draco still hadn't shown up. Hermione didn't know what to think about this. She was certain Madame Pomfrey would have told him straight away. She sighed for the thousandth time. It worried her that Harry hadn't come around yet. She had seen the aftereffects of his visions before but none had kept him unconscious this long. He normally woke right out of them in considerable mental and physical pain. This was too long. Something was very, very wrong.

"Mina?" A small voice rasped questioningly. Hermione's head shot up in surprise. Severus was looking at her with pain filled eyes. "Mina? Luc'us isn't wakin up."

Hermione uncrossed her arms, pulling Severus to her. The little boy curled up against her chest, gazing up at her in confusion. "Why's he not wakin up?"

"Oh sweetie," she murmured realizing the severity of what had happened. Lucius was dead from the way Severus made it sound, unless he was unconscious. She had no way of knowing until Harry awoke, or get Severus to tell her what he had seen. Hermione did not want to hurt the little boy more by making him relive whatever it was that he saw, but one look at Harry's still body told her she didn't have much of a choice. "Tell Mina what happened?" she coaxed gently. She hated that she had to do this.

"It was no good Mina," Severus whispered. "Dark Lord saided Lu'cus betrayed him. He…he cast cruke…cris…crus…he hurted him badly."

"Crucio," Hermione muttered under her breathe more to herself than to the little boy snuggled up against her. "Then what happened?"

Severus eyes went wide, "Avada k-k-k."

"The killing curse," she breathed, feeling sorry for Draco even though she wasn't all that upset about it. She had never liked the elder Malfoy for obvious reasons but she never wished he would die.

"He's dead," a hollow voice echoed through the wing. Hermione looked up meeting placid silver.

"Draco," she said sadly, her heart aching for the lost blonde. "Will you be all right?"

Draco nodded, sinking down onto one of the beds. "My fathers dead."

"Luc'us is dead?" Severus squeaked horrified. "Dead? He's my fwiend he can' be dead."

Hermione pressed a firm kiss to the boys head. "Why don't you try to wake Harry up Sev."

Severus nodded dismally and crawled back across the bed and sat in front of Harry's face. "Harry," he said, jabbing a finger at the boy's sternum. "Wake up. Harry." He pushed at Harry with both hands. "Wake up."

Harry groaned, rousing slowly. His green eyes flickered between the three sad faces. "You know?" he croaked.

Draco nodded curtly. He repeatedly ran his hand through his blonde hair. Harry was too sore to move. He wanted to talk to the blonde. Explain better than any five-year-old could. He wanted to comfort his good friend and he was rather trapped in bed. He was angry for Draco. The other boy didn't even know his father was shifting towards the light side. Harry had been informed months ago. He had assumed Dumbledore would have talked to Draco by now. He felt every bit the idiot. He should have known better than to trust Dumbledore when it came to Draco. Every step of the way Dumbledore had tried to get him to cut ties with the boy and Harry had stood firmly at the blonde's side. Harry's insane amount of trust in the blonde gave the two a close tie that neither shared with anyone else. All Lucius had been trying to do was protect his son. Now his brain was working overtime as he thought of as many ways as possible to side-step Dumbledore and keep Voldemort at bay. Now, however, he didn't have any distinct ideas but he had vague notions of what he could do. First things first though, shelter Draco. The blonde was parentless now. Narcissa had been killed when the Ministry had raided Malfoy Manor a few months back. The boy was an orphan. Harry refused to believe there was nothing he could do to help.

Severus pressed his glasses in his hand. Harry smiled at the boy, planting a smacking kiss on his cheek. Severus blushed, before returning the gesture and scooting off the bed. He stood in front of Draco, arms outstretched in a plea to be picked up. The beds were still too high for him to get up on by himself. Draco lifted the five-year-old up and settled him on his lap. Severus wrapped his arms around Draco's waist giving him a tight hug.

"What am I going to do?" Draco moaned, rubbing his face furiously. He looked miserable, lost, and afraid. Severus had yet to let giving the blonde comfort even if he didn't know why. Harry wanted to get up and pull the blonde into a hug as well but his limbs refused to cooperate with his brain.

Harry now knew it was up to him to grow up and take responsibility. While he knew it wasn't his fault Lucius had died, he had kept the fact that Lucius had been spying for the light alongside Severus for the last few months. "You're going to be kept safe. Easter break is this weekend. Some students will leave and so will you."

Draco stared at him, "I thought Dumbledore wasn't allowing you to hide me."

"On any of the properties he knows exists yes," he replied, turning as much as his body would allow. "But the list is only of the ones I happened to know I was going to want. Not all the ones I own. He can't prevent you from leaving if he doesn't know where you are going. And who's going to tell him Lucius is dead."

Draco looked mildly impressed, but his eyes were stricken with anguish. "You kept them hidden from Dumbledore?"

Hermione snickered earning odd looks from all three boys. "Dumbledore isn't infallible. He can't know everything. He's just very good at reading people."

"Harry, I'm tiwerd," Severus yawned, cuddling against Draco. His eye's drooping in exhaustion. "Spleepy," he mumbled, sticking his thumb in his mouth. Draco carried Severus over to Harry and laid the little boy next to him. Harry ran his hand through Severus' wayward hair with a sigh. Harry knew they were in for a long night. He glanced at Hermione who was smiling affectionately at them, then at Draco who was still looking depressed, but a little hopeful as well. Harry only hoped he could live up to their expectations. Severus was out. His breathing had evened out the moment he had been placed next to Harry.

Harry hoped he got through one night without being reawaken by terrified screams or angry sneers. Hermione kissed him on the forehead. Harry smiled, grabbing her hand. He squeezed it once then released it letting her go.

"Draco, if you want you can stay," he offered shyly.

Draco smiled in thanks but shook his head, "I'll be back in the morning one more night in the snake pit won't hurt."

Harry nodded in understanding. He returned the hug the blonde gave him to the best of his abilities. Draco whispered goodnight as he exited the hospital wing, leaving Harry and Severus alone.

Harry's back and arms were still incredibly sore. He didn't even want to test out his legs. It had been a long time since he had been forced to witness a death like that. It bothered him more that Voldemort had known to show him it. He had been very aware of Harry being in his mind. Harry shuddered remembering the way Voldemort had taunted Lucius with the knowledge that Harry could see what was happening. That by his subsequent betrayal Harry would be witnessing his death in his sleep. Harry yawned wildly, turning on his side, trapping the five-year-old in his arms. He only vaguely noted that both of them were clean.

**A/N: So... was it worth the four month wait? I hope you feel it was and too everyone who reviewed with the original chapter tenI took your reviews and just resubmitted them.**

**Please Review!**


	11. The Journal

**A/N: I'm proud of myself. Well, that was a bit braggy, but I have a reason to be! Two count 'em two updates in the same month! I'm awesome...not really. I know people who update far more frequently then myself. Oh well. This is still a record for me! And it's another long one too. I didn't even get all of what I wanted to say in it. Which means all my chapters will be off skelter! But hey, I can roll with the punches so expect chapter twelve to be overloaded with stuff...or maybe not. You'll just have to wait and see.**

**Thank you so much by the way! 331 reviews I feel overwhelmed everytime I look at that number. **

"Professor Dumbledore, please listen to me."

Harry groaned softly, cracking open an eye. Severus was standing on the bed a desperate look on his face. Another memory, still from his years at Hogwarts, thankfully this one didn't seem to involve any violence. Then again, he really wasn't sure how long it had been going on. Harry felt guilty but he was rather glad that the memory wasn't one that involved him. He was waiting for it to happen. The harsh sarcastic words that he had heard in years past. The definite assurance that Severus will begin to pull away from him as the memories get stronger. Hermione had warned him only a few days ago to not become attached. Harry groggily reached for the little boy as he began pacing the bed. He didn't want him to fall off the edge. Severus didn't protest as Harry pulled him down, which was in itself a new experience. Harry had been failing miserably at getting him to hold still so he wouldn't hurt himself and now it seemed he was willing to sit. Perhaps it was in the memory itself or maybe because despite the anxious and frantic nature of the babble that was coming from Severus' mouth he was calm.

"I didn't mean to Professor. It's just." Severus paused and ran both hands through his hair. "I didn't want it to happen. Lucius just told me to go with him. That it would be fun and people would stop pushing me around. But it's absolutely the most horrible disgusting vile thing ever. I…I can't kill people. The Dark Lord…he well…he wasn't pleased with me and he…he," he gulped, "he forced me to….Sir please, please tell me there's something you can do."

Severus hung his head. "I know sir."

Harry ran his hand up and down Severus' back soothingly. He knew what the memory was. It should have been obvious from the start since most of the memories had been coming in chronological order. This was when Severus pledged himself to the light side. Harry had questioned Dumbledore's staunch support of Severus many times in his early years at Hogwarts, but now he got to see why.

"Please sir!" Severus begged. "I don't want to be a Death Eater anymore! Can't you get rid of it?"

He held out his left arm and pushed up his pajama sleeve revealing the unmarred flesh of the five-year-old. Severus was looking glassy eyed over at the other side of the room. He was sitting tensely in Harry's arms awaiting a verdict.

"You can't," his voice dropped. "Sir, there must be something." He cocked his head to the side. "You want me to what?"

Harry snorted at the blatant disbelief. He could picture the scene almost perfectly in his head; right down to the serious look Severus had to be getting from the headmaster.

"I can't! You don't really expect me to." A beat. "You do," he sighed resignedly. "All right. I'll do it. But where am I to go?"

A bright smile crossed Severus' face before fading. "You won't be disappointed sir."

And he fell back in Harry's arms. Harry smiled softly as he realized Severus had fallen back asleep, if he had even ever been awake at all. Harry reached for his wand on the bedside table, careful to not jar Severus awake.

"_Tempus_," he murmured.

He blinked at the time. It was only 1:30 in the morning. They hadn't been asleep for more than 5 hours. But now that he was up, Harry found he couldn't go back to sleep. He kept thinking back to earlier that evening. There was something niggling at the back of his mind and he just couldn't remember what. He knew it had to do with Lucius and subsequently Draco, but what 'it' was eluded him.

He rolled over and pulled Severus against him. He was smitten he realized, not only with the man the little boy truly was but the five-year-old himself. Harry groaned. The brief thought that Hermione would laugh at him if he told her amused him for all of ten seconds. He was screwed, royally screwed. Severus wasn't going to stay a child forever, no matter how hard he wished it so. He had grown attached to the boy. He was used to hearing him running around their rooms with his high-pitched voice that could get him everything he wanted. It saddened Harry to realize that once Severus was gone. He would be lonely. Taking care of the boy was like having a companion with him at all times. Someone to talk to even if they had no idea what it was you were talking about and would comfort you even though they had no idea why it hurt them to see you like that. Harry was hurting. And for once it wasn't pain caused by another. He had done this to himself. But the idea of staying away from Severus, the very thought of the disappointment and pain that would reflect back at him every time he looked into the obsidian eyes, was terrifying. Harry could never do that.

Harry mindlessly gazed around the empty hospital wing. He knew that tomorrow there would be other's here as well. Some complaining of an upset stomach, headaches, head colds, others with burnt off hair, singed clothing, all of them with some normal complaint that came from going to a magical school. Harry was getting sick of the white washed walls of this wing. The sooner he got out of here the happier he would be. Severus rolled over in his sleep, burrowing into Harry's chest. Harry smiled sadly at the little boy. The moon cast its pale blue beams across the two boys.

"What am I going to do?" he whispered, into the night.

* * *

"Harry wake up! Up! Up! Up!" Severus bounced on the bed excitedly. He prodded Harry's stomach wanting Harry to open his eyes. "Harry get UP!" 

Harry mumbled unintelligibly, batting away the pestering hands. "Too early," he grumbled rolling over.

"Harry the sun's up and it's warm!" Severus told him, crawling over Harry's body so he was facing him again. "I wanna go out!"

"Again?" Harry asked groggily, giving up on the idea that he could ignore the little boy. He propped himself up on his elbows. "We went out yesterday."

"Oh," Severus said, eyes wide and watery. "But…"

Harry grinned warmly, "I never said we wouldn't. Now get off me pest."

Severus giggled, slipping off the bed slowly, straining until his bare feet hit the floor. He squeaked and leapt up. "I's cold."

Harry laughed at the outraged expression on the black-haired boys face. "You forgot to put socks back on of course the floor is cold."

"I's warm outside whys the floor cold?" Severus pouted, jumping from foot to foot.

"It's always cold, Sev," Harry told him, lifting him back onto the bed. "That's why I wear socks to bed."

"Yous do?"

"Yes," he rolled back the blanket revealing his covered feet. "See?"

Severus nodded. "I don't gots any socks," he pointed out, wiggling his toes for emphasis.

Harry hummed, "I can see that."

"How are my boys this morning?" Madame Pomfrey asked, bustling out of her office. Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Severus was poking his side and it tickled. It was apparent that Severus knew this as well as he kept on poking and running his fingers over Harry's side. Harry glared at the mop of black hair.

Harry smiled blindingly. "We're fine."

"Yes, I can see that," The nurse said, placing some fresh clothing on the bed. "Once you change you may go. Breakfast will be starting shortly."

Harry took this chance and grabbed up the clothing in one arm and allowed Severus to jump on his back. "Thank you Madame" he said, shifting Severus' weight on his back so he wouldn't drop the boy.

"And Mr. Potter."

He looked up at Madame Pomfrey curiously. "Yes?"

"I don't want to see you in here again."

Harry grinned, "Yes, ma'am." He braced himself to stand. "Ready Sev?" Severus nodded against Harry's back. Harry could feel the smile the little boy had on his face through the thin fabric of the hospital pajamas. He stood up slowly, leaning forward to get Severus higher up on his back. Severus' arms automatically tightened around his neck and his legs gripped Harry's sides. Harry turned his head slightly meeting the excited onyx eyes of the five-year-old.

Severus laughed as Harry took off at a gallop bouncing Severus on his back. Harry slowed down once they entered the lavatory. He kneeled down so Severus could slide off then he handed the boy his pair of brown corduroy pants, underpants, and a green long-sleeved shirt. Harry helped Severus shrug out of his pajama top. They changed and Severus chatted Harry's ear off about some potion that he had made recently that supposedly made the drinker easier to get along. Harry idly wondered if Severus had ever tested the potion then brushed it aside. There had to be some reason why knowledge of certain things was coming in drips and drabs while major life changing memories or unpleasant memories seemed to come in chronological order. It baffled Harry. He nodded distractedly when Severus asked if he was paying attention. He was just not carefully.

"I'm hungry Harry."

Harry grinned even as his own stomach rumbled. "I think breakfast would be wonderful right about now."

* * *

The journal. Harry stopped in the middle of the corridor. Severus stopped as well looking at him confusedly. Harry felt like a right idiot. How could he have forgotten something that important? He had to keep Draco safe, if not because Draco was seeking asylum himself but because he had made a promise months ago. That if something ever happened to Lucius then Harry was to protect the blonde. Harry never quite grasped the monstrosity of what Lucius had been asking at the time, but now. It bowled him over. Someone had placed their child's life in his hands. He was scared. A new resolve formed in his mind. Even though he had told Draco he'd attempt to hide him, Harry was going to make sure it would happen now. Because he had made a wizarding pact and Harry didn't want to deal with the consequences of not taking action. Harry found himself walking aimlessly to the Great Hall lost in thought. Severus tentatively grabbed Harry's hand. Harry gave the tiny hand a squeeze. Severus smiled up at him happily. 

There were so many things Harry was going to need to do to get ready. He would have to leave the school grounds there was no doubt in his mind about that. And he wasn't going to get permission to do so. It wasn't right that some wizened old man should hold so much influence over everyone's lives. He trusted Dumbledore, but he needed to take his life into his own hands. Harry chewed on his bottom lip pensively. He had portkeys to every one of properties he owned. He was going to have to go to them all. There had been very little description of the properties beyond their size and location. Harry mentally crossed off the flat in London that his father had lived in for a very short amount of time before he had married Lily. It was in the middle of one of the busiest districts and Draco would be easily spotted even in the large crowds. There were a few others that Harry knew of that he wouldn't allow Draco to stay in. Then there were the ones that Dumbledore knew of those he also tossed aside as well. That left him with three possibilities. None of which Dumbledore was aware existed and all were unplottable. Only thing was Harry had never been to any of them.

"Can we go in now?" Severus asked, pulling on Harry's hand, urging him to enter the Great Hall.

Harry nodded, allowing the five-year-old to guide him threw the doors. Severus pulled him all the way through the doors before stopping. He looked indecisively between the Gryffindor table and the Slytherin table. Harry waited patiently knowing how important it was for the five-year-old to make this decision on his own.

"Can we sit with the Sly-slythrens?" the little boy asked, looking up at Harry expectantly.

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and noticed Draco sitting by himself. "You want to sit with Draco don't you?"

"Ah Mr. Potter our new celebrity," Severus said coolly. Harry froze and stared down at the five-year-old dismally. Here it was, he thought sadly, the beginning of the end. Harry scooped the little boy up in his arms without a fight. The Great Hall had gone silent as they watched Harry slowly walk over to the Slytherin table. Severus was still talking, lost in the memory of the first day he taught Harry. Harry tuned it out as he set him down on the vacant space next to Draco.

He studied the blonde's face for a moment seeing that he had probably gotten even less sleep then he had. The talking faded off with a resoundingly cold 'five points from Gryffindor.' Harry waited until Severus came back to himself. The sweet smile he received from the five-year-old broke his heart. There was no doubt that Severus would shortly put two and two together and come up with the reason why Harry was so familiar to him. But strangely it never happened.

"Harry, why you look so sad?" Severus asked reaching across the table for a slice of toast.

"It's nothing Sev."

The little boy looked at him oddly for a moment before going ahead and merrily eating the piece of toast. Harry watched him for a few moments wondering how Severus could just ignore that memory. Certainly it wasn't as powerful as some, but it was rather important. At least to Harry. The fact that Severus could brush it off so easily frightened him.

* * *

"Draco!" 

The blonde turned around and saw an out of breath Harry Potter giving a piggyback ride to a five-year-old Severus Snape. A sight he still wasn't accustomed to seeing yet.

"Yes?"

Severus peered around Harry's head with a crazy grin, "DRACO!"

Harry winced, rubbing his ear playfully. "Indoor voice Sev."

"Oh right," he crinkled his nose and whispered very softly, "Draco, we wants yous to come with us."

Draco raised a speculative eyebrow, "Do we?"

"Uh huh," Severus said, nodding vigorously. Harry tightened his hold on the vibrating five-year-old's legs. "We're going on a picinic!"

Draco smirked, his eyes trained on Harry, "And you're inviting me why?"

"Cause there is something I want you to have and Severus has been pestering me all morning about going outside again," Harry said exasperatedly.

"Will it just be us?"

Harry nodded, "Just you me and Sev."

"All right. I'll come." He grinned weakly. "I just need to go change."

"Yay Draco's comin!" Severus squealed, gripping Harry's neck a tad to tightly. Harry grunted, prying Severus' arms from around his neck.

Draco snickered as he walked away.

"Did you hear me Harry? He saided yes!"

"I heard him Sev," Harry murmured, heading off to their rooms. He felt good about this, Draco needed to be amongst friends now. He knew Draco knew what Harry was trying to do, and he was thankful the blonde was going along with it.

* * *

The wind whipped through their hair as they walked across the grounds. A large leather bound journal was tucked safely under Harry's arm. Draco kept throwing speculative looks at the book, but didn't question it. Harry ran through the mental list of things he was going to have to tell Draco about before he handed the journal over. Severus was carrying the large picnic basket with both hands. 

"Can we stop now?" he asked, dropping the basket to the ground. They were right on the edge of the lake. There was no one around so Harry nodded. "Can we eat now?"

Harry laughed sitting cross-legged on the ground. Severus climbed onto Harry's lap like it was the most natural thing in the world. Draco sat a little ways away. He tossed a rock into the lake, watching the ripples it produced. Harry bit his lip, observing the introspective blonde.

"You hungry Draco?" Severus questioned, ripping a piece of bread off the loaf and handing it to the Slytherin. Draco smiled slightly, taking the offered bread. He munched on it thoughtfully.

He swallowed and stared at Harry seriously, "This wasn't just a random picnic Harry. What do you want to give me?"

Harry fingered the journal beside him nervously. Severus tilted his head back to look up at him curiously. Harry smiled and tweaked his nose causing the five-year-old to break down in laughter. His smile disappeared though when he realized what it was he was going to have to do.

"Draco before I give this to you there are some things I think you should know," he began. Draco turned so he was facing the raven-haired boy. The small tremor in Harry's voice intrigued him. What could he be nervous about? "You see there is something you did not know about your father."

Draco snorted, "I doubt that."

Harry sighed heavily, earning a hug from Severus. Harry returned the hug with one arm the other busy holding out the journal to Draco. He hated the idea that Draco would be diving into this blind, but he saw there was no reasoning with the blonde. Draco took the journal from his hands hesitantly. Harry watched with bated breath as Draco opened the journal and looked at the name inscribed on the inside cover. Pale eyes met nervous green.

"It was my fathers," the blonde said unemotionally.

"He gave it to me months ago." Harry scratched the back of his neck. "I figured you need it more than I do now."

Draco held the leather bound book to his chest. "You've read it."

"Lucius wanted me to," Harry explained gently. "He said he wanted to prove himself to me," he sighed sadly, "Lot of good it did him though."

Severus looked up at him with concerned obsidian eyes. "Harry your sad again."

"It happens Sev."

"It shouldn'," he stated petulantly.

Draco nodded absently, ruffling the little boys hair. "He didn't want me to read it."

Harry couldn't answer that. It was a statement not a question. He felt his stomach bottom out as Draco turned away to face the lake again. There were no reassuring words he could say that wouldn't sound false.

"Just read it," he advised, feeling like he had been tossed into the lake with only a life preserver but no knowledge of how to swim.

* * *

"He's never around anymore," Ron complained. Ginny rolled her eyes before going back to the novel she was reading. She had heard this complaint from her brother so many times in the past week she felt like her head was going to explode. Hermione had taken to studying solely in the library just to escape the redhead's frequent lambasting. Ron was scowling at the fire. The bright orange and red flames crackled merrily oblivious to the anger stare it was receiving. 

Ginny sighed, unable to read any further because of her brother's constant muttering. She placed the book next to her and folded her hands staring contemplatively at Ron. "You could go visit."

"Pft," Ron snorted, brushing aside the suggestion without even looking at her. "He's always hanging around Malfoy."

"Malfoy's father did just die," Ginny pointed out. Immediately she realized the error in her words. Hermione had told her this in strict confidence the night before and here she was now blabbing it out to the very person who had no right to know and would use the information to his advantage. She loved her brother, but she also knew there was little love between the blonde Slytherin and he.

An odd glint came to Ron's eye that put Ginny on edge. He smiled maliciously. "He did, did he?"

"Ron, whatever it is you are planning to do don't."

"I'm not going to do anything," Ron said innocently.

"I don't believe you," she stated, folding her arms across her chest.

Ron growled, "I never asked you to believe me."

"Ron," she warned, "Hermione will not be pleased and you just got back in her good graces. Do you really want to jeopardize that?"

Ron stared at her for a few moments. Ginny waited patiently knowing that Ron was having a horrible inner battle, a conflict of interests, taunting his enemy or keeping his girlfriend. A resigned look fell on the freckled face of the seventeen-year-old and Ginny knew she had won.

"Fine," he spat unable to keep the bitter tone out of his voice. "I won't do anything. But still Harry's never around!"

"Ron!"

* * *

The wind swirled around them kicking dead leaves into the air, reminding them that spring had just begun. Severus was shivering as he wrapped Harry's cloak around him. Harry kept one arm around the little boy in his lap. He was busy watching Draco. Observing him, he feared the blonde wouldn't be able to handle the contents of the journal. That he would be unable to digest the truth from it. There were so many things he had learned about Lucius by reading his journal and the personal narrative didn't even personally affect him. 

"I's cold now," Severus said through chattering teeth.

Harry wrapped his cloak tighter around the five-year-old, "We'll go in, in a bit."

Severus nodded, his head hitting Harry's chest. Harry coughed trying to hide his laughter.

"This," Draco said tremblingly, "this…he never told me."

Harry sighed heavily. His head hurt from the combination of wind and sun and guilt. It pained him to see the lost expression on the blonde's face. He wasn't regretting giving Draco the journal, but he was regretting not giving it to him sooner. Draco looked up at Harry his pale blue eyes begging him to explain, yet Harry couldn't. He had no explanation to give.

Severus braved the cold to go sit next to Draco. He stared up at the blonde with sad eyes. "Now Draco's sad, whys everyone so sad?"

Harry didn't have it in him to tell the little boy. Severus already had too many things to deal with. Harry and Draco's issues didn't need to be added to the list.

"DETENTION!" Severus barked. His onyx eyes glazed over. "No excuses Potter, be in my office at 7 o'clock sharp!"

Harry groaned miserably. A few students who had been wandering the edge of the water stopped and stared in shock. Harry shot them a glare and they hurried along but not before hearing Severus deliver a parting shot.

"You will be remaking the entire potion, this time without Granger's help."

Draco was staring at Harry sympathetically. "That's only the second one right?"

"Yes," Harry grumbled, waiting for Severus to snap out of the memory. He disliked this immensely. The uncertainty of how long Severus could repress the memories. The uncertainty of the length of time Harry had with the bright and bubbly little boy. He missed the older sarcastic Snape persona but he didn't enjoy seeing it come out of a little boys mouth.

**A/N: So what did you think? Not quite as fluffy as the last chapter nope not at all. But not as painful for our three boys. And I added Ginny in. Yay!**

**Review Please! **


	12. It begins

**A/N: All right guys, I am so sorry about not updating before this and I know this chapter is tiny in comparison to most, but I swear upon my very expensive college tuition that this story will be done by the end of the summer. From here on it's all downhill anyways.  
**

The wind picked up in intensity but Harry couldn't bring himself to move away from the lake. He engulfed Severus within the confines of his winter cloak, refreshing the warming charm every so often. Draco was leaning back to back with Harry, his knees drawn up to his chest, his pale blue eyes staring off into the pale evening sun. They had been out there for hours now and none of them had made a move to speak. For what was there to say? Severus had fallen asleep after the last memory and was now napping quietly on Harry's lap. His still tiny hands fisting Harry's t-shirt, face calm and peaceful.

Harry had been lazily running his hands up and down the five-year-olds back wondering what would happen when Severus woke up this time. He couldn't repress his memories forever, it wasn't healthy nor was it plausible. The child squirmed slightly beneath his fingertips, letting loose with a powerful yawn in the process. It made Harry smile to see it, but also quite sad. Holding the truth in wasn't healthy, but he wasn't sure he could suffer the sort of hate that the five year-old would harbour after being forced to remember everything. It was an altogether different brand of hate than Harry was used to seeing from his potion's professor and not a pleasant one. No...he could wait to pry the memories out of Sev another day.

Draco sighed softly behind him. Harry reached out and grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently.

"You ok?"

There was a long pause, which was better than just having the blonde spit out a caustic "fine". Harry rested his chin on top of Severus's head, waiting for the child to shake off the remaining sleepiness from his body.

"I'm afraid," Draco finally admitted, curling his hand around Harry's.

Harry sighed heavily. "I won't let anything happen to you I swear."

"You can't make those kinds of promises, Harry," Draco pointed out softly.

Harry looked over his shoulder and saw Draco's head bowed, his blonde hair covering his face from view, but Harry was almost certain he was crying. He knew the blonde too well to say anything about it though. If he wanted comfort he would ask for it. So, he gave comfort through the steady but gentle pressure on the blonde's hand.

"I mean it Draco," he said with quiet conviction. "I will die before someone touches you."

He felt Draco tense behind him. "Harry," he said slowly.

"No, don't argue with me. I said I would and I'm not taking it back."

"Harwy?" came the tired yawn from his lap. Harry stopped his argument with Draco and looked down at Severus with a tight smile.

"How was your nap, Sev?" It came out sounding overly cheerful, but the five-year-old didn't even seem to notice. Instead he beamed up at Harry.

"We're still outside," he pointed out gleefully. Harry chuckled softly, pulling the squirming little boy against him tightly. The air was chilling and Severus didn't have his jacket on. Harry didn't even want to think about what would happen if the black-eyed boy caught a cold. It was only early March and there was still a good chance that it could snow again.

The ground, though already growing anew, was still hard packed that day a sure sign that the weather was going to take a turn for the worse. He glared up at the darkening sky even as the sound of distant thunder echoed across the grounds.

Draco tensed behind him, before relaxing again. "We should head back in."

Harry nodded and rubbed his forehead. His scar was itchy. He glanced down at the top of Severus' head with a sigh. They really did need to get back indoors.

However, before he could as much as stand a shriek, like none of the boys had ever heard before resounded through the grounds. The noise grew louder by the second. The sound pierced the air, with its inhuman quality. Severus began to whimper and soon burst out into tears the sound hurting his ears more than Draco or Harry's.

The wail ceased abruptly, leaving Harry's ears ringing and his stomach churning. What had that been? He felt the magic shift in the air. Bolts of electricity shot across the sky and the entire grounds glowed white and got brighter when with a large crack the light expanded and shot out and died.

"Shit, oh shit, Draco!" Harry yelped realizing what had just happened. He leapt to his feet with Severus held tightly in his arms, in return Severus' tiny arms were wrapped securely around his neck and his head was buried against the nape.

"Harry were those the…"

"The wards? Yes." Without thinking he passed Severus over to Draco. "Go," he said, feeling the hair on the back of his neck standing up. A lick of pain lanced through his scar and he knew that he had to get Draco and Severus out of there. "Please go!"

Draco stood his ground with a fierce scowl. "Don't tell me what to do Potter!"

"Don't be an idiot MALFOY!" he shot back. This was not the time for arguing. Not now. "Please Draco, take Severus into the castle and hide!"

"Do you think I'm just going to leave you here?"

"JUST GO!" Harry shouted, his face flushed with anger. Severus' crying grew louder and more frightened. Harry winced, his expression softening. "Please Draco, I'm going to find Dumbledore, but I can't leave Severus by himself."

"Do you think this is it?" Draco asked, his eyes widening as he realized why Harry was so agitated.

Harry didn't know how to answer that. Voldemort was near. A severe burn had replaced the itch and his eyes had begun to water fiercely. He hoped not. He wasn't any where near prepared for this.

"Potter."

Harry jerked and looked at Severus, but for once his eyes weren't fogged over and he was looking directly at him.

"Don't give me that look Potter, I don't have much time like this. There's a decent chance by the time this battle is over with I won't be a child anymore."

Harry nodded, listening intently. "But sir…"

"Potter, don't be dense. You know as well as I that this will be the final battle and you are severely unprepared." The five-year-old smirked knowingly. "To be brief, there is a potion, in my private stores, that will help you. It's in a lime green bottle Potter sitting on the shelf nearest the door, it is tiny but visible. Drink it all before confronting the Dark Lord."

"But the wards around your door-"

"Are gone, along with all the castle's. Apparate in and out before finding Dumbledore." Harry nodded sharply. The little boy looked up at him with an odd expression. "And Potter?"

"Yes?"

Severus bowed his head with a contrite expression. "I probably won't be compelled to say this later, however," He looked up with a half-smile that seemed odd on the small boys face. "Thank you."

Harry smiled in return even as he realized the professor persona had been shoved down again and replaced by the bubbly five-year-old one.

"I'll go," Draco said, shifting the trembling child in his arms. Harry nodded and pulled out his wand ready to feel the slight pressure and pop out of existence. "Harry."

The raven-haired boy glanced up at the blonde. "Yes?"

"Don't get yourself killed."

Harry wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Instead he pulled Draco into a quick one-armed hug and pressed a kiss on his porcelain colored cheek, before he disappeared off the grounds.

Draco sighed heavily. There was only one problem. He had no idea where to go.

**A/N: So what did you think? Make you guys happy? I hope so! Because for once I didn't torture Sev with the past, heh, yay! **


	13. Dumbledore's gone round the twist

**A/N: OMG are you all staring at your computer screen with shock yet? Cause I would be if I were you. I actually managed to get out another chapter this month! And guess what? Chapter 14 is done and Chapter 15 is about 6 pages from completion! And do you know what that means? 1 epilogue and the story is done! Anyways, I'd like to thank you guys so much! 400 reviews and counting! I'm rather speechless right now, just so you all know.**

Draco watched as Harry apparated with an uneasy feeling. He had to get back to his Slytherin's before they did something stupid. He shifted Severus in his arms, gently stroking a hand up and down his back as the little boy started to tremble. The ends of the small silver and green striped scarf that was wrapped tightly around Severus's neck flapped in the breeze, hitting the back of Draco's.

"Harwy," Severus whimpered, clutching Draco desperately, his arms wrapped tightly around the blonde's neck. Tears soaked Draco's shoulder as the little boy cried, "Dwaco, Harwy poppded."

Draco sighed, resting his head gently against Severus's. "He apparated Severus, he didn't pop." This didn't seem to do much for the tears but the trembling lessened. Draco waited a moment before pulling out his wand. "Hang on Sev," he muttered, praying he didn't splinch them. This would be his first time with two people, he could only hope it wasn't as hard as he had heard it was. After all Severus was still very small, it should be like apparating with a travel bag of sorts. His mother used to apparate with him all the time when he was little, the same principle had to apply here surely. He closed his eyes imagining the interior of the Slytherin common room and then with a loud crack disappeared from the grounds, the only sign that they had been there was one small empty white sneaker and a black sock.

* * *

Harry staggered as he reappeared in the dungeons of Hogwart's. Apparating in had been the single most disorienting thing he had ever done before. Aside from the knowledge the he shouldn't have ever been able to making him hesitant, the very idea of entering the potion's masters store room scared the piss out of him. He knew the types of wards and hexes that were on the door and knew that only the most desperate or insane student ever dared even go near it, let alone into it. It didn't help that he had gotten the permission to enter by the baby version of the Potions Master either. As a matter of fact the only thing that made him move down the corridors at a dead run was the sound of alarms echoing through the ancient castle.

His feet hit the ground, pounding in tandem with his heart. His thoughts flew in a thousand different directions only settling on one set route for a passing moment before it derailed. The cries of students shook him back together. It meant he was entering Slytherin territory, at a dead run, when there were announcements calling for everyone to retreat to their common room's immediately. It was with this unsettling idea that he pelted down the torch lit corridors, finally focusing in on the task at hand. Get the potion, drink it and get out. He didn't have the time anymore to worry about mundane things like the slurs that were bound to come out of some Slytherin's mouth.

Students were panicking and racing in all directions through the corridors. Harry felt odd since he wasn't running back to his common room like all the others. He ran full force down the emptying hallway towards the potion's classroom, undaunted by calls and jeers from the remaining Slytherin's straggling behind. He had known they were coming and pausing to retaliate would just be plain stupid.

"What part of the bloody alarms going off and returning to your common room do you people not understand!" He shouted, as he passed a group of frightened second years. Harry slowed down and sighed. He needed that potion, but he knew he had to get these students someplace safe first. They were staring at him with such terrified expressions that he wondered if maybe Death Eaters weren't charging up the halls towards them.

"Y-you're…" one of the girls stammered but clammed up immediately.

"Harry Potter," a brown haired, freckled face boy finished for her with a flabbergasted expression.

Harry squared his jaw wondering what the Slytherin's had to say about him now. What new rumor had reached the dungeons that they could coldly spit or whisper as he passed by them? He ran an anxious hand through his thick black hair waiting for another comment but none was forthcoming.

"Yes…and…?" he asked exasperatedly. He needed that damn potion and a plan. There wasn't an easy way out of this battle, but there were so many students left. But he wasn't the planner that had always been Hermione and right now he was one Hermione short of a plan. Perhaps always rushing headlong into danger had been a bad course of action. He was going solo this time around and it was an experience he wasn't enjoying.

"Why are you here?" the same boy asked, his face was pale making the dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose more pronounced.

With an exasperated sigh, Harry opened his mouth to answer the predictable question, when someone hailed him from down the hall.

"POTTER!"

Harry jerked his head to the left at the familiar voice and felt nothing but relief. It was an interesting sensation to be sure and one he had never experienced when it came to the dark haired girl who was running towards him. There was something almost comforting about her fierce scowl that was hiding the fear that could easily be seen in her eyes.

"Parkinson, take these second years back to the Slytherin Common Room."

"Make me Potter," she sneered, folding her arms across her chest. Harry gave the girl a cursory glance, taking in her appearance in one look. It wasn't hard to tell how stressed she was with the situation. Everything about her stance screamed irritation and defensiveness. Her robe was hanging off her shoulders revealing the fact that the sleeves of the starch white button down collared shirt was almost completely unbuttoned underneath the gray sweater vest with green and silver trim and the sleeves were rolled up past her elbows. Her ponytail was falling out leaving stray black hair to frame her clenched jaw, her gold hoop earrings looked ready to fall out of her ears. Her knee socks were rolled down to her ankles and one of her shoes was unbuckled. The silver chain around her neck had the clasp by the teal teardrop pendant it held. Harry was certain she was breaking all the rules in the Slytherin dress code and he was also certain that she just really didn't care. As a matter of fact it looked like she had been very busy doing something else when the alarms had sounded. Harry shuddered internally. A sickening thought crossed his mind as to what she could have been doing.

"Pansy, please don't argue, you can't just leave them in the corridor alone," he reasoned, attempting to stay cool headed even as the same regurgitated sentence repeated echoing out the demand for all students to return to their common rooms. Pansy kept her sneer firmly in place, her lower lip curling in disgust. "Don't you get it!" Harry snapped, slamming a hand into the cold stone laid wall, the sound drowned out in the face of the alarms. "The ward's are down, and Voldemort…" He paused as he noticed everyone flinching, "is at the edge of the school ground's stripping away at all the defenses the castle holds and you're arguing with me as if we have all the time in the world! Woman, we're in a battle! People will DIE!" He gestured at the trembling second years. Their eyes were unnaturally wide and Harry began to understand that no one outside of him, Draco, Severus, and the rest of the staff understood the severity of the situation. "They will die, if you can't get them back to your common room!"

Pansy flinched, her stance still defensive and distrusting. Harry was breathing heavily, his eyes hard as jade. He knew she would come around, but he swore if she didn't he would have no qualms in hexing her pug face more hideous.

"Fine!" she spat. "Perkins, Liam, Adams, and Norton, follow me." She turned abruptly, her dark hair fanning out behind her dramatically and she stalked off, the four students following behind her like obedient baby ducks. "Potter!" she called, stopping suddenly but not turning around. Harry groaned wondering what the girl had to say now. "If you die, Draco will personally resurrect you and kill you." And then she rounded the corner and disappeared, the remaining second years racing after her.

Harry shook his head in annoyance, wondering if this day could be any weirder.

* * *

Draco looked around the dreary common room with apprehension. He knew this wasn't what Harry had meant, but he had been left alone with a five-year-old, who needed more supervision than he could manage by himself. He wished Harry had been a bit more specific, when he had told him to take Severus and run. At least a helpful go here and he wouldn't have been standing in the middle of the crowded room, clutching a frightened, probably traumatized, five-year-old to his person.

"DRACO!" He heard Pansy's shrill voice before he saw her and felt her coming towards him through the swarm of younger students. He turned towards the entrance with an unamused expression pasted on his face.

"Pansy," he said coolly as she went to wrap him in a hug. He sidestepped her attempt at clinging on to him like a leech with a disgusted expression. Severus's fingers were curling in his long hair again, the tiny fingers working through every silken strand on his blonde hair that fell at the base of his neck. It seemed to calm the child so Draco did nothing to dissuade him. A calm Severus Snape was better than a crying and quivering one. "Where were you?" he asked, eyeing Pansy's disheveled appearance with a grimace. He had never before seen the girl this untidy and he would keep it in mind for a later date when he could chew her out about it when she started in on him.

"Potter," she groused angrily, as if that explained it all. She gestured at a small group of twelve-year-olds with a positively livid expression.

"Wait, you saw Harry?" Draco questioned her, surprised by this news. He had thought Harry would have already made it to Snape's private storeroom but obviously he had been mistaken. "When?"

Pansy huffed, "About five minutes ago. He was jabbering on about a battle or some such nonsense. Honestly, how thick does he think I am? No one can enter Hogwarts with a Dark Mark without some sort of penalty. Every person with half a brain and a copy of _Hogwarts, a History_ knows this!"

"Pansy," Draco tried, but Pansy wasn't finished.

"Then he had to make some speech about death and dying, scaring poor Adrienne, Jacob, Serena, and Lysander half to death. I swear, if I had stuck around another second to listen to his self-righteous prattling I would have saved our Master the trouble and killed him for him," she ranted, her brown eyes shining malevolently. Her gaze lighted upon the drowsy boy, Draco was holding. "And our dear Potion's professor is still a child," her voice oozed with sticky sweetness. Draco wanted to gag or maybe gag her. Either way, the situation didn't end in a favorable fashion.

Severus buried his face in Draco's shirt in fear. Draco immediately thought of what Harry would do to calm him down and gently brushed a kiss over the top of Severus's head. He had seen Harry do this a thousand times over the course of the past two weeks in order to settle the little boy and only hoped him doing it would have the same effect. The five-year-old peered up at Draco, his eyes still shining with tears. It tore at Draco's heart in a way he hadn't expected it to. He heard the muffled cry for Harry and mimicked the cry in his mind. He wanted Harry to appear as much as Severus did, but for different reasons. Severus just needed Harry nearby to feel safe, Draco needed Harry nearby to make sure he didn't lose his mind and do something stupid. Harry had become the single most important person to him in the span of two days and he wasn't entirely sure what he would do if something happened to the other boy.

It was amazing but he hadn't even thought of his father once during this entire experience, but now that he was feeling lost, he wanted his guidance. The ever-looming overprotective shadow of his father had vaporized and Draco was at a loss at what to do.

Draco wanted to put Severus down on the ground. His hip was falling asleep and despite his still tiny size, the little boy was heavy. Plus, it was slowly becoming harder to breath as Severus's arms were beginning to constrict all airflow to his lungs. Unintentionally of course, but no manner of jiggling the little boy could get him to loosen his painful hold on Draco's neck.

"And who dressed him, Potter?" Pansy continued to prattle on, tugging at the edge of Severus's sweater, before Draco could stop her or even noticed how close she had gotten.

Draco snorted, knowing she had a point, but was smarter than to agree. Certainly, Harry's taste in clothing was questionable, the plaid shirts over the baggy gray undershirts weren't exactly screaming out high fashion to anyone, but he knew the other boy hadn't dressed Severus that morning. The little boy was right at the age where he took pride in dressing himself in whatever he wanted. And today it appeared he had decided on a bright blue sweater with a pair of forest green corduroy overalls. Draco noticed that a sneaker was missing and furrowed his brow, wondering how he hadn't seen that before. Severus flinched in Draco's grasp. Pansy's sarcastic remark had to have hit the little guy pretty hard.

"I dwessed myself," Severus stated proudly, staring Pansy down with an angry expression, the likes of which Draco had only seen on the onyx-eyed boy when he was lost in a memory.

Pansy scowled, and stormed off. Apparently Pansy's comment still was upsetting the little guy because the moment she had vanished into the crowd Severus looked up at Draco with a pathetic expression that he must have stolen from Harry. "Dwaco? I looks good right?" he asked, his eyes wide with hope and trust.

"Of course," Draco lied through his teeth, knowing that the truth would probably crush Severus in a way Pansy's flippant remark hadn't. Severus seemed content with this and snuggled in Draco's arms.

Draco shook his head with annoyance. Well, at least Harry was still whole and well. He wasn't too sure how much longer the boy wonder would be able to hold it all together without flying apart.

* * *

Harry found the potion easier than he had expected to. The little bottle was unmarked but distinguishable amongst its neighbors and it gave him a bit of pause. How safe was this really? Trusting the word of the one professor in the entire school who hated him unaccountably and had been making his life a living hell since he set foot within the castle. He held the sky blue bottle between his thumb and his forefinger irresolutely. His brows furrowed in thought. Did he really trust the elder Severus enough to drink this without question? Was it worth the risk of poisoning himself?

His heart skipped a few beats as he came to his final decision. A soft almost goofy smile graced his lips as he pulled the stopper off the potion. It was hard to deny it anymore. He loved the man. He cared about him more than anyone else including himself and trusted his judgment. He felt guilty for even thinking that maybe Severus would poison him. Harry hated himself in that moment; after all, Severus had saved his pathetic arse year after year for seven years, even when he hadn't been aware of it.

Carefully, he brought the bottle up to his chapped lips and tipped the contents into his mouth and swallowed. He waited a moment for any odd side effects but none were forthcoming, the potion didn't leave him with dry mouth, queasy, dizzy, or tingly in any manner. He didn't feel any different than before other than the slight taste of peppermint left on his tongue.

He didn't think much more on it. He hadn't fallen down dead and that was good enough for him. He glanced around the storeroom one final time, tucking the little bottle in his pants pocket. Brandishing his wand, he left the dungeon with a pop.

* * *

"SILENCE!" Severus thundered, his eyes gleaming with anger.

Draco placed the irate five-year-old onto the ground immediately as if Severus's skin burned to the touch. He took a step back joining the circle that had formed around them the moment Severus had barked out the order. Draco wasn't sure what to do with himself. He had been there when Severus had told Harry that he wouldn't be a child by the end of the battle but he hadn't expected the sudden switch in personalities. As a matter of fact, he was still getting over the shock of it happening the first time. He had been around during the memories, but seeing Severus directly address Harry and not Harry's knees had been a disturbing sight. And it was still creepy now as he observed the way Severus's fists clenched rhythmically at his sides.

"I expected better of you," Severus sneered, his cold gaze penetrating the crowd of dumbstruck students. "You are all acting like a bunch of sodding Hufflepuffs."

Draco choked back a snort at that remark because it was true. The sirens were still blaring filling the empty space in the room as everyone waited on baited breath. It was truly amazing that even in his current state Snape could still command an audience.

"I need the seventh years to step forward." Snape's gaze swept the room irritably as no one moved forward. Draco could almost see the aggravation visibly pouring off the Potion's Master. "NOW!" he barked.

Everyone jumped at the harsh order. But slowly Zabini, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Bullstrode, and Draco moved forward. Draco stood behind the five-year-old on the off chance he reverted back to the correct age for his body. He figured it was safer to be within holding distance.

Snape frowned as he took in the pathetically small group of students now gathered around him. Draco waited on baited breath wondering what his head of house could possibly have planned for this occasion, because if he dealt with them the same way he had dealt with Harry then it was obvious that he had known about this invasion long before now. Which led to one very important question, why hadn't he told anyone else about it? The state of disorganization the school was in told him that Severus hadn't even told Dumbledore about this possibility. It could have meant a number of things, and all of them were unpleasant and formed knots in Draco's stomach. His pale blue eyes watched the proceedings shrewdly, waiting for one student to step out of line and do something completely stupid.

"Parkinson," Snape said sharply. "I need you to gather the sixth years and take roll call, come to me immediately if someone is missing." Pansy nodded, fiddling with her necklace. She didn't look pleased with the situation, but even she was bright enough to not go against a direct order from their Head of House.

Severus rounded on Draco with an almost amused expression. It seemed strange to Draco that he would be following orders from a five-year-old even if he were only five in body not spirit. "Malfoy, I need you to round up the first years."

Draco nodded, not bothering to wait around to hear the others assignments. He turned towards the milling students and strode through them determinedly, till he was beside the fireplace. His narrowed gaze swept the room looking for all the 1st years, glad for once that being a prefect made him learn everyone by name and face and year.

* * *

"Professor!" Harry yelled, banging on the aged oak door to the headmaster's office. "Professor, I need to speak with you!"

* * *

Draco grunted as one of the first years practically clung to him. He sneered down at the younger girl and stopped, checking himself. They were frightened and they weren't the only ones. Now wasn't the time to be cruel or slip back into his Malfoy persona. Now was the time for patience. But even then his patience was beginning to wear thin. With no news of what was going on and Harry still running around Draco was beginning to wear thin at the edges. The only thing that kept him together was the thought that if all went well, he might finally be able to redeem himself in society's eyes.

"Lauren," he grumbled, reducing his glare to the minimum. "Are you all right?"

* * *

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore greeted, from a pile of parchments. Harry could see the strain around the aging man's eyes, the ever-present spark of life dying like a cooling ember. It was disheartening to see, because despite the older man's age he had always given off an air of youth. Now, it looked like he was ready to fall down dead at any moment.

The air in the tower seemed more strained and tense than anytime before. And Harry couldn't pinpoint exactly why this was. He had been in this office before and after major crisis's before and never had he felt like such an outsider.

"Professors." He nodded towards McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Sinastra, and Hooch. His eyes flicked back over to the headmaster with an impatient look. "Sir," he began but was cut off when a wooden chair banged into the back of his knees forcing him to sit down.

"Patience, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said wearily, signing his name at the bottom of a document. There was a moment of tense silence and the only sound in the room was the scratching of the quill against the parchment. Scanning the other professor's pinched faces, Harry realized they hadn't gotten much further than he had with him.

* * *

Draco couldn't isolate exactly when Snape reverted back to Sev again, all he knew was that he suddenly had his arms full of an upset five-year-old and his hands tied by orders to keep the first years calm and safe. He felt like a bloody house elf, but there was always a reason for everything and he knew that his Head of House strangely trusted him. It was a tender trust and Draco knew it was as well, but it hadn't existed before the potion incident. Somehow something about Draco's more open personality with Harry must have struck a cord deep within Severus. It made him wonder what else had stuck and what hadn't.

He ran his hand through Severus's fine black hair. It was getting long and was hanging in the five-year-olds face, casting shadows around the boy's eyes. Severus tilted his head all the way back staring up at Draco pitifully huge tear-filled onyx-eyes.

"Harwy's unhappy," he whispered with a strangled tone. "He's weally mad, Dwaco."

* * *

"What do you mean we have no plan!" Harry yelped, leaping to his feet, furious. He slammed his palm against the large desk, ignoring the tremor of pain that raced up his arm. "Sir, you always have a plan! ALWAYS!"

"Potter," McGonagall warned but Harry just ignored her his eyes glittering menacingly. A vase of orchids that had rested peacefully on the desk shattered, scattering the flowers and drenching the desktop. Dumbledore waved his hand and the vase restored itself back to its previous state as if nothing had happened in the first place.

"Minerva." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard thoughtfully a troubled look on his face. He gazed at his deputy over the edge of his glasses. "I need you Pomona and Filius to go check on your students."

McGonagall nodded resolutely and threw some floo powder into the fireplace and called out "Gryffindor Common Room" and vanished in a swirl of green. Flitwick went next, the diminutive man's face was white as freshly fallen snow and he looked about as cold as well. He was followed closely by Sprout, who seemed to be having trouble remembering where she was going as she stepped into the fireplace with the floo powder leaving Professor Sinastra and Madame Hooch in the office with one sorely disgruntled Harry Potter.

"Sir?" Harry asked with a deeply confused expression. "How could you not have been at least a little prepared for this situation to happen?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily and stared at Harry with an apologetic expression. "The wards have been in place since Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, and Helga Hufflepuff set them and have been strengthened over the decades by each headmaster as the job was passed onto them. No one, Mr. Potter, has ever broken through them all. There have been those that have found alternative routes around the wards, but those have all been fixed and warded against Death Eater's and those with evil or malicious intentions."

Harry sputtered, his face turning a disturbing shade of puce. "Why haven't the Death Eater's launched there attack if the wards are down?"

"There is one barrier they haven't broken through yet."

Madame Hooch stepped forward with an aggravated expression. "Albus, the children, they can't remain here."

Dumbledore steepled his fingers with a grave expression. "I'm afraid," he said, "we can't allow them to leave."

* * *

"He's comin' here," Severus told Draco in a matter of fact tone. Draco's mind was spinning. He didn't understand how Severus could possibly have known that. Or why he even thought it, but it was scaring the piss out of the eight first years surrounding them and he just hoped if Harry was in fact coming to them right now, that he would be able to calm Severus down so Draco could attempt to regain control over the first years.

The common room fell into a deafening silence the moment the alarms stopped sounding. Draco knew it wasn't a drill, but the lack of sound was more frightening than any other sound he could hear. Being in the dungeons left them all vulnerable. They were the hardest to defend and the easiest to attack.

Behind him the fire grew bright and colossal and green and suddenly Harry Potter was stumbling out of it looking outraged. Draco took a few steps backwards, protectively holding Severus's head, knowing better than possibly anyone what could happen when Harry pissed off. He half expected the clock on the mantel to shatter into a million pieces.

"BLOODY DUMBLEDORE!" Harry screamed, his chest heaving as he fought his own temper. "Damn him to hell," he muttered, gazing around the tense room. He ran a hand through his hair, dislodging soot and he adjusted his glasses that had been knocked askew in the short travel.

He grunted as someone firmly attached themselves to his side and his hand reflexively went down and ran through Severus's hair in a soothing motion even as his eyes fixed on the tall blonde gazing at him apprehensively.

"Meeting with Dumbledore didn't go well?" Draco asked amicably.

Harry snorted. "He can sod off for all I care, because he certainly doesn't care about any of us."

"Harry…"

"No, Draco," he silenced his friend harshly. "I'm sick of his condescending bullshit. If he's not even going to attempt to protect his students, than it's up to us to take care of ourselves."

"What are you going to do Harry?" Draco asked, resting an elbow against the mantel of the fireplace with an uneasy expression. "You can't expect us all to fight this battle."

"I don't," he said shortly, picking Severus off the ground. He breathed in the sweet scent of the child, loving Madame Pomfrey for giving him the spell for cleaning younger, more stubborn children, especially those who were afraid of water unconditionally. "He hasn't been giving you any trouble has he?"

Draco shook his head slowly. Severus for the most part had been the best-behaved child in the room. He decided that telling Harry about Snape's reappearance again would only serve as a bad distraction. Harry probably wouldn't want to leave the little boys side knowing that he would probably become an adult within that day.

He stared around the room at all the apprehensive and disgruntled faces. "Then what do you expect us to do?"

Harry frowned thoughtfully as he bounced Severus gently. "We evacuate the school."

"To where? It's not like the parent's are aware of the current situation and the muggleborns won't be able to go anywhere."

"We aren't splitting anyone up," Harry said decisively. "Draco, do you still have your floo powder in your room?"

"Yes, and so do all the sixth and seventh years."

"Good." He gazed around the otherwise silent common room with a speculative glance. "Is everyone accounted for?"

"All but three," Draco answered in an undertone. Harry nodded his emerald eyes lighting on each group of students. They were all watching him, wondering what he was doing there, and more importantly wondering what was going to happen to them. Harry wished he could reassure at least the first and second years but he knew even that would be too much to ask. They didn't trust him and they each had their reasons for this distrust.

"Dray," Harry murmured. "We're getting them out of here, but I'm going to need at least four pieces of scrap parchment and a quill."

"What for?" Draco whispered leaning in closer, sensing Harry's urgency and need for secrecy.

"Just go get them," he said forcing a smile onto his face. Draco rolled his eyes and moved away from the fireplace grudgingly.

"Keep an eye on these first years, they're a needy bunch." And with that he took off to his room. Harry eyed the first years uncertainly, wincing when all he got in return was a bunch of gob smacked awestruck faces looking up at him. At least it wasn't hate or distrust, but still, what was his appeal? And why were the Slytherin's looking at him like that? He shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. He hated being stared at and right now almost everyone was staring at him and those that weren't were whispering about his sudden authoritative appearance.

"Put me down, Potter."

Harry nearly yelped, the sound getting lodged in his throat. His eyes widened with shock as he hastily put Severus onto the ground. He stared at his professor awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. The first years were giggling at his panicked display and he tensed waiting for the harsh words to come tumbling from Snape's mouth, but none came, instead it appeared as if he was lost in thought.

"Sir?" Harry ventured, rolling up his sleeves and unbuttoning the top three buttons of his shirt. His skin felt like it was on fire and he wasn't sure if it was from the actual fire or from the potion he had ingested earlier. He scratched at his flesh idly waiting for the Slytherin head to say something.

"You're feeling it aren't you, Potter." Came the terse answer. Harry was sweating. His hair stuck to the back of his neck as the tiny droplets beaded and rolled down his spine. Heat lanced through his body and he couldn't make it stop and it hurt. "Don't fight it boy."

Harry gasped. He was sweltering. He tugged on the collar of his shirt with a distressed expression. This couldn't be normal and it burned him from the inside out. And nowhere was in more pain then his scar. He swayed, tearing at his scar. It was throbbing, pounding and… Harry's mouth fell open as the pain doubled. Blood, he was bleeding. Harry collapsed to his knees in shock.

"What…did you do to me?" he breathed, staring at his professor in horror, but he only got a horrified expression in return.

"Harwy? Harwy, whas a matter?" Severus cried, his tiny hands grabbing Harry's head unsteadily. "Whas wong?"

Harry convulsed as he tore at his scar furiously. It hurt like a thousand sharpened pick axes chipping away at his head. Blood trickled down his nose and ran into his eyes, blinding him.

"Shit Harry, what the hell happened to you?" Draco yelped, pushing through the crowd that was pressing in close to see what was happening to their savior. He shoved a few hapless students out of the way with single-minded determination. He needed to get to Harry, he had to get to Harry. He threw himself down on the ground in front of the raven-haired boy, brushing Severus away, wondering why no one had been wise enough to remove the five-year-old. He was too young to see this.

"Dray," Harry croaked, clutching Draco by the shoulders. He grabbed the quill and parchment scribbling onto it an almost illegible address. He could barely… "I…I need you to get…ge AAHHH!" he screamed, panting heavily. He had to stay awake. "Take them to…to… 5 Godric's Hollow." He grit his teeth as pain funneled through his scar. Wave upon wave until he was sure it was tangible enough that it would split his head in two.

"Harry," Draco murmured, rubbing a finger over the bleeding lightening bolt even as Harry finally succumbed to the pain and passed out. He closed his eyes and exhaled shakily. Harry wasn't dead, but he could no longer help him. "ALL RIGHT YOU LOT!" he shouted out across the common room. The hushed whispers that had been racing through the room stopped abruptly and all eyes landed on the blonde. "I need all the first and second years to line up in front of the fireplace!" he called out, watching with satisfaction as they complied with his order. "Sixth and seventh years, I need you lot to go get your personal stash of floo powder. And I mean _all_ of it!"

"PEOPLE THE CASTLE IS UNDER ATTACK! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!" He sneered as they moved reluctantly.

"Foolish boy."

Draco turned his head to see Severus lifting Harry's head with his hands clumsily. He watched in disbelief as Severus slapped Harry hard across the cheek without remorse. It was weak by most standards but it could still be heard even over the clamoring of students trying to do as Draco ordered. He watched in stunned amazement as Harry slowly came around. His eyes were glassy and unfocused as he stared somewhere over Severus's shoulder. Severus grumbled, snapping his fingers in front of Harry's dull emerald eyes.

"Sev…?" Harry groaned, shutting his eyes again and for a moment Draco swore he had passed out again, but then he heard the soft. "Wha happened?"

Draco felt oddly detached from the situation as Snape mimicked his earlier movement of brushing his fingers over Harry's famous scar, but he did a double take. It was fading rapidly. The bleeding had stopped and it was fading till he could barely make it out anymore.

"You dunderhead, I told you not to fight the potion!" Snape groused, taking a step away from Harry allowing him to sit up.

"You bloody poisoned me," he muttered, cradling his head in his hands. His thick hair stuck out between his fingers, as he glared weakly out through his glasses. "I felt like I was dying."

"Felt like is not the same as actually dying, Mr. Potter, now get up!" Snape snapped angrily.

Harry grunted, rising tremblingly to his feet. He gripped the mantel with both hands, nodding to Draco who was now laden down with about ten pouches of floo powder. He bowed his head breathing in deeply as he tried to get the world to straighten out.

"Some savior you're turning out to be," Snape muttered. "Can't even handle one potion without collapsing. Pathetic."

Harry weakly glared at his professor, giving Draco the silent go ahead to start sending students through the floo. The dizziness was slowly leaving him, but something else was missing as well and he couldn't quite place it. He rubbed his forehead, collecting his thoughts and trying to make sense of the curiously empty feeling he had.

"Here," Draco said, handing the first girl in line the slip of parchment, "Memorize it." The girl nodded, scanning the very short address before handing it back to Draco. She took the handful of floo powder offered to her and stepped into the fireplace and threw in the powder and vanished from sight.

"I…I can't feel him," Harry murmured softly, screwing his face up in bewilderment. He jolted when he felt a tiny hand pat his arm awkwardly.

Severus looked so damn smug it was unsettling. "Good," he said shortly. "You shouldn't."

**A/N: So, what did you think? Did you like it? Because I suck at suspense and battle scenes. So this chapter and the next may seem a little erm…when you read it.**


	14. Those things gone unsaid

**A/N: Guys, if I haven't said this before, I'm going to say it now. I love you. All of you. You have no idea what a rush it is to open up your email and to find another three reviews for your story. 432 reviews. I am still flabbergasted let me tell you.**

**Here's chapter 14 and before you all hit me, yes, it is a cliffy. **

"Where is he?" Hermione fretted, biting her fingernail worriedly.

She glanced around the solemn common room, knowing they were all thinking the same thing she was. _Where hell was Harry Potter when he was needed?_ She was nervous, Harry never failed to show up when needed, but the last she had heard from him was right before he took Severus and Draco outside for an impromptu picnic. They had been outside and Hermione prayed that they were smart enough to get inside with the first wail of the alarms. She didn't want to think about what could happen if they hadn't.

She jumped slightly when someone wrapped their arms around her waist, fingers splayed on her stomach. Gooseflesh rose on her skin as warm breath rushed past her ears.

"I'm sure he's fine Mione," Ron whispered reassuringly, kissing her temple as he tugged her closer to him.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be able to do this alone, Draco?" Harry asked, cradling Severus' slumbering form against his chest. The little boy had fallen asleep a few moments ago, surprising both Harry and Draco. Harry carefully took off the forest green mittens and the loosely bound scarf and stuffed them in his pocket.

"You're needed elsewhere now Harry," Draco said in response. He gently took Severus from Harry, carefully maneuvering him so his head was resting against Draco's shoulder. They watched in silence as Pansy, the last one to read the parchment, stepped into the flames. She seemed deeply disgusted with herself as she threw the powder down and vanished.

Harry nodded to Draco. He clutched the self-inking quill and pieces of remaining parchment in his fist, waiting for the blonde and the five-year-old to disappear into the floo network.

"Be careful," he said, pressing a kiss to both boys' foreheads before stepping back.

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Draco quirked an amused eyebrow, but Harry could still see the worry.

"What do you mean?" he scoffed. "I'm always careful."

Draco's smirk softened into a smile. "You are so infuriating Potter."

"Don't you know it," Harry said, pulling out his wand. His expression went serious as he stared at the two most important people in the world to him. He stood there uncertainly. There was a good chance he wouldn't make it back alive. He didn't want to leave them but he had to. He had to go and evacuate the rest of the school. The only reason he had stuck around with the Slytherin's as long as he had was because of who was there. Otherwise he would have been long gone by now. He knew the Slytherin's were the least stupid bunch in the school when it came to self preservation and if they were given an out they would take it, reluctantly of course and with a due amount of distrust, but they would take it and go.

The Gryffindor's would go unquestioningly, just because it was Harry who told them to, and they listened to him. Merlin knew why they did, but it would help him more now. The Ravenclaw's might take some convincing but even then they would go once they got all the facts from him. Hufflepuff, Harry didn't even worry about. They would leave with a cheerful smile to anywhere they were ordered to. It made them unique. It made him miss Cedric. He shook his head, wondering why he thought of the long dead boy now. Perhaps it was because he needed the Hufflepuffs to be strong like he was now, or perhaps he just wished he were alive still. He needed an ally with as much recklessness as he had in another house and Cedric had that in abundance. He just hadn't flaunted it in the way Harry did.

"Go," he urged, wanting them gone before he broke down.

Draco nodded, taking a scoop of floo powder from his pouch and shoving the rest of them at Harry. He inhaled unevenly catching a glimpse of the depression lurking in the corner of Harry's eyes. There was nothing he could do about it now though. The last thing he saw as he disappeared into the floo was a single tear trailing down Harry's pale cheek.

* * *

"Professor!" Hermione called, racing towards her head of house, needing answers. She needed to know what was going on. The alarms had stopped a good solid twenty minutes ago now and what bothered her most was nothing was happening. She tucked a strand of her frizzy brown hair behind her ear as she neared McGonagall with trepidation. Hermione had never seen her head of house so…frail. She edged around the couch until she was standing in front of the elderly woman. "Professor McGonagall?"

The deputy headmistress slowly raised her head and peered at her with a careworn expression. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Professor, what's going on? Where is Harry?"

No one had dared to ask her when she had first shown up. One look at her was enough to cow them all into silence. They obeyed her every command not wanting to face her wrath if they dared question her. But now Hermione couldn't help herself. She needed answers or she was liable to explode from tension and anxiety. She didn't do well at all without knowing every detail about a situation.

"Death Eater's, Miss Granger, have broken through almost all of Hogwart's wards." McGonagall's impassive gaze rested on Hermione's anxious face. "As for Mr. Potter, Merlin himself can't predict what that boy will do, he could be anywhere."

Hermione scowled, but she knew her professor was quite correct. Harry was the single most reckless person she had even met.

Knowing that was no great relief either.

"Mione, you need to relax."

Hermione whirled around her face plastered with shock. He was here, he was finally where he was supposed to be. She could hear the excited whispers race through the common room and knew she wasn't just seeing things. She jumped and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck tightly, crying into his shoulder. "You're an idiot Potter! A real jerk! I hope you know that," Hermione sniffled, pulling away. She smacked his shoulder hard feeling satisfied when he winced in pain.

* * *

Draco slumped down in a comfy armchair in Harry's living room. He gazed around at the other Slytherin's who seemed suspicious of every piece of furniture in the room and had taken to standing around like morons.

"Oh will you just sit down!" he snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose. Severus was napping on the black leather couch beside Draco's chair. Draco wasn't sure how long Severus would stay like that. Aside from being five-years-old, meaning his naps were unpredictable, he had been switching back and forth from Snape to Severus so often Draco couldn't rely on the quiet for long. The entire ordeal was beginning to give him a huge headache.

"Draco, how much longer will we have to stay in this dreadful place?" Pansy simpered, curling up at his feet like a faithful lapdog. Draco felt ill and prodded her away from him with his knees. "Aw Dracie what's wrong?" she cooed, batting her overly painted eyelids at him. He grit his teeth, his fingers gripping the fabric of his chair.

"Miss Parkinson, perhaps it would be wise to go curl up in a corner and die. At least then we wouldn't have to hear your irritating voice any longer."

Draco heard sniggering from some of the older students and had to resist the urge to join them.

Pansy sputtered indignantly, clamoring to her feet ungracefully. "Sir!" she shrieked in her horribly betrayed voice. Draco wondered if she knew she sounded like metal grating against stone when she talked.

* * *

Harry had been suffering Hermione's inane game of twenty questions as she tried to get him to tell her every detail of his life from the past few hours. It was annoying and distracting, because really all he wanted to do was speak to his head of house and tell her of his plan. For all he knew at the moment

Dumbledore could have come up with a better one by now, but from the frazzled state his professor was in, he knew he hadn't.

"Hermione, please, ask me later," he begged, gripping her shoulder tightly. It was bad enough her eyes kept flickering to his unflawed forehead. He could just hear her asking about it in front of everyone and their reaction when they found out exactly why his scar had vanished.

"I know a diversionary tactic when I see it Harry," Hermione stated aggressively.

"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall snapped, intervening. Hermione blushed and stammered an apology. McGonagall pursed her lips as she gazed between the head girl and the boy-who-lived.

"Mr. Potter, did Albus tell you anything?"

"No, ma'am," Harry answered, his voice clearly carrying his irritation with the entire situation.

McGonagall scowled, the worry lines on her forehead deepening as she stared around the room full of her students. They were her responsibility and she had to plan accordingly. She couldn't just leave them all here.

"Professor?" Harry asked, his eyes shining with determination and a tinge of anger.

"What is it Potter?"

"Ma'am, the Slytherin's have already been evacuated to a safe house," he said, pulling out the three remaining pieces of parchment each with a different address on them. He handed one of them to her. "This is my house in the south of France. I had it refurbished last summer, and had it hidden and made unplottable."

McGonagall stared at him in shock. Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but the pride radiating through was enough to make Harry blush.

* * *

Draco couldn't believe how fast that went. One moment he had been staring at a five-year-old and suddenly a thirty-seven-year-old was in his place. Not that it went that fast or that smoothly. As a matter of fact Draco had felt rather at a loss when Severus had started screaming like the house was collapsing around him. He had done the only thing he could think of at the time and had raced up to the master bedroom and lain Severus' writhing body on the soft, fluffy bedspread. Draco managed to remove the child's clothing before the actual change in size occurred, hoping to avert a potential crisis. It didn't take long for Severus' skin to start rippling and the sound of bones breaking to begin. He only hoped Severus couldn't feel it, especially if it was as horrible as it looked.

It had taken maybe five minutes total for the changes to finish and when it had Draco felt a pang of sadness. He knew Harry would take this change harder than anyone else, he only hoped Snape wouldn't make it harder on his friend.

* * *

Harry was ready to go to Ravenclaw tower when the entire castle shuddered. He stumbled forward and crashed into Hermione. A confused look crossed his features as he stared around at the upturned furniture and frightened students. It took him a moment to remember what he was doing and where he was about to go and with that came the horrifying revelation of what the shuddering could have been.

"Please tell me that wasn't," he began, gulping when he caught the terrified expression on his professors face.

* * *

"Mr. Malfoy, stop gawking," Snape grumbled, sitting up slowly.

"Sir, I wouldn't-!" Draco advised averting his eyes.

Snape glanced down and growled. "Care to tell me, Mr. Malfoy, why am I naked?"

* * *

Harry was trembling. He was standing at the entrance of Hogwarts alone. The ground around him shook as spell upon spell smashed into the castle's ancient walls. It wouldn't be long now before the death eaters entered the castle and then…Harry swallowed nervously. There was no one to back him up this time. None of the order had been alerted, Dumbledore had locked himself in his tower, and all the professors were helping with the students. They had all urged him to go with them. That it wasn't worth it. And maybe they were right. Harry clenched his wand tightly in his right hand. The careworn floors buckled and cracked beneath his feet and it was all he could do to remain standing.

Perhaps he should have listened to their advice.

"Harry!"

Harry gasped as arms wrapped around his shoulder's steadying him as the earth beneath his sneakers continued bucked and roiled.

"How?" he asked, his voice shaking with relief. He wouldn't be alone. They hadn't left him alone. Someone had come back for him, to stand with him. He leaned backwards feeling dizzy and nauseous, but secure. The musty smell of careworn books and mint drifted through his nostrils as he inhaled deeply. Even now when it seemed like the world was going to end that scent calmed his fraying nerves. He missed Remus, missed him almost as much as he missed seeing Snape stalk down the corridors of the castles.

Harry felt horrible about not visiting the werewolf more often, but he hadn't had the time. He had planned on visiting him during Easter break but that didn't look like it would be happening anytime soon.

"Fawkes set off the alarm."

Harry nodded, closing his eyes briefly. He knew the Death Eater's still vastly outnumbered them and that retreat would be inevitable. But as long as they could take some of them out. Just get a handful of Death Eaters out of the way, and then maybe, maybe the actual final battle wouldn't be as costly.

"Remus, who else is coming?" he asked, turning around. His eyes widened in amazement. Kingsley had just appeared to his right and directly behind Remus stood Tonks.

"Wotcher Harry," Tonks said brightly, her pink spiky hair shone brilliantly in the halls. "What's this I hear about you fighting alone?"

Harry flushed, realizing how stupid it sounded now. He wasn't a God. He was a teenage boy.

"I-I," he stammered embarrassed. Immense satisfaction washed over him as slowly more and more of the order appeared in the entrance hall to Hogwarts.

"Sir, Harry told us to stay-"

* * *

"Mr. Malfoy, I am very aware of what Mr. Potter had to say on this matter, but the bloody little fool is going to run headlong into danger, not even aware of what the potion I gave him will do for him!"

"Sir," Draco tried again in desperation. "Sir, what about the rest of the Slytherin's?"

"What about them?" Snape grumbled. "They are quite capable of taking care of themselves. Do you want Potter to live or not?"

Draco blanched. "Live. Of course."

"Then I am leaving."

Draco stood back as Snape rifled through Harry's closet looking for something to wear and finally settled on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of too small black jeans that he had to lengthen. It took him a moment to realize his professor had performed wandless magic. It took a great amount of willpower to not let his mouth hang open in shock at the display, no matter how small. He had only seen it a handful of times before and never for something so casual as a clothing altering charm. He ran a hand through his hair, mussing up the perfectly styled strands, not that he noticed or cared. It was more important to keep an eye on his professor. There had to be something wrong with him, no one came back from being five-years-old perfectly fine, especially the way he had.

Draco bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from commenting on Snape's wardrobe choices. He was certain Snape had never worn something so completely muggle in his life. He watched as his head of house examined his appearance in the mirror.

* * *

"Remus," Harry whispered, edging towards his only remaining link to his family. Everything had gone silent a few seconds ago and it left everyone on edge. The air sang with the tension that was building. Something was going to happen, someone was going to make the first move.

"Yes, Harry?" The werewolf kept his wand down by his side loosely, but Harry could see the muscles tensing in his arms and knew he wasn't relaxed or as calm as he outwardly appeared.

Impulsively, Harry hugged him. He couldn't stand this much longer. Everything was piling higher and higher and soon it would all come tumbling down and when it did he hoped everyone made it out alive. "What's this all about Harry?" Remus questioned softly, returning the embrace easily.

Harry shivered. Of all the people here he worried about his surrogate godfather the most. The full moon had been two nights before and Remus still appeared ragged at the edges. He knew it had been rough for the werewolf without the potion. Harry hadn't even thought of that until now and he felt oddly guilty about it even though it wasn't his fault and it wasn't like Remus was blaming him either. He hugged the haggard man closer.

"Don't die, all right?" he mumbled, half hoping Remus didn't hear that bit of sentimental dribble.

* * *

Draco had been ordered to stay put, like he hadn't wanted to join in the "festivities" anyways. Well, all right he had. He wanted to be by Harry's side badly, but knew better than to argue the point. There were still people who thought he was still fighting for Voldemort's cause. His aunt for one would be especially displeased if he showed up fighting side by side with Harry Potter himself. He cringed realizing they were probably wondering where he was right about then.

"There you are, Draco."

Draco eyed the audacious first year apprehensively. It didn't surprise him that he had been found, it wasn't exactly like he was hiding. Plus now that Snape had vanished to go help Harry he was left alone. But this still begged the question: Why were they looking for him in the first place?

* * *

"I'm not going anywhere, Harry," Remus reassured him, pressing a kiss to Harry's brow. It was as this was said that the grand doors smashed open, crashing into the walls, splintering the wood. A purple spell whizzed over Harry's head and dissipated as it hit the wall behind him and Remus.

Draco couldn't believe he had been suckered into a game of exploding snap. He felt like a bloody Gryffindor, this was not a very Slytherin-esque game, but it was keeping the first years quiet and he would do anything to maintain that quiet for as long as possible. It let him think, and worry, and strategies, and occasionally pray, but that was only very occasionally and it was usually whenever he thought of Harry being hit by the killing curse, his lifeless body staring blankly at the world, mouth hanging open permanently in shock.

Spells were being flung carelessly at the encroaching band of death eaters. There was no aim other than the mass of black cloaks heading in their direction. As long as no one managed to enter the castle they were safe. But they could only keep this up so long. Soon the more seasoned Death Eater's would step up and that would be when the real battle would begin. Harry was already wavering, not in determination, but strength. His entire body was still weak. He felt like he could collapse at any moment, but he had to keep himself standing upright and focused. But how long would he be able to keep up at this pace was a question he didn't want to think about to hard. For if he fell now chaos would ensue. He needed to stay strong at least in will power, because the people here standing with him were only there for him and if he fell then there was very little doubt in Harry's mind that there would be a full out retreat.

He stumbled into the rough walls of the school's entrance as a cutting hex ripped through his shirt slicing his arm open. He cast a stunner at the nearest Death Eater, his eyes watering in pain. He grit his teeth as he set off a series of stunning spells taking down three more masked Death Eater's and disarmed another. They were all novices. Harry knew a decoy when he saw one, Voldemort had actually planned ahead this time. He had sent all his new followers to the front line, knowing that whoever they would fight would waste all their energies on the throng of people before them, leaving them weaker for the stronger spell casters. Voldemort's favorites, his chosen followers who had been dedicated to him since his first reign, his inner circle.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered as he flung himself against a wall to avoid another slashing hex. He had yet to cast anything above a stunner but he knew it was only a matter of time before he would have to fight fire with fire.

* * *

Draco glanced at the large grandfather clock that was ticking away in its long corner. Two hours had passed since the alarms had first started ringing; a half an hour had passed since Snape had disappeared from the master bedroom, fifteen minutes since the last person had attempted to strike up a conversation with him and five seconds since he had last thought of how Harry was fairing. This was his first technical battle and the only comfort he got from this knowledge was that Snape would be there making sure he didn't get himself killed.

* * *

Harry's eyes watered as he felt his ankle twist in the wrong direction. The fight had moved further into the hall than any of the order wanted it to, but it couldn't be helped. He took a hesitant step forward and crumpled to the floor. No one seemed to have noticed and he rather preferred it that way as well. Because if anybody would have noticed it would have been one of the Death Eater's and Harry wasn't all to keen on the idea of dying that day.

Suddenly, someone gripped him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him bodily off the ground. Harry twisted violently, fearing that in his one moment of thought a Death Eater had captured him. He struggled lashing out spastically but continually hit the air around him.

"Stop squirming boy and listen to me."

Harry froze. He knew that voice. He knew it all too well.

"Why do I even bother?" the older man muttered, dropping Harry back down to the floor. Harry scrambled to his knees and stood up, unprepared for the sudden hit to his lower back that made him buckle over. He turned his head angrily to the side, ready to unleash a very angry, highly uncouth, terribly distasteful string of words that would probably have earned him detention everyday until he was thirty-five but before the first word could leave his lips a spell barely brushed the top of his head, singeing his hair. He watched in disbelief as it struck Severus forcefully in the chest.

Harry's heart leapt into his throat as he stared horror struck as the older man stumbled backwards into the wall, cracking his head against the smooth stone. His sallow features even paler as he slowly sunk to the floor, his long black hair falling limply in front of his face.

"No," Harry whimpered, unaware of anything else but the streak of blood that stained the wall. "Please." Everything seemed to be moving alarmingly fast around him but he felt as if he was standing still. He couldn't seem to get his legs to function correctly as he scrambled towards the unmoving body. "No," he mumbled. Severus couldn't be dead, not like this, not this easily.

Harry's hands were trembling as he reached out to touch the back of Snape's head. A sticky substance coated his fingers and he jerked them back staring in horrified fascination at the thick crimson liquid that drenched them. Something wet fell against his cheek and it took him a moment to realize he was crying. He was numb. Every inch of him was unfeeling and he couldn't tear his eyes away from Severus' expressionless face. It was all too surreal. Harry let out a jagged breath and hysterical laughter began to bubble up from within.

"HARRY!"

Harry jerked his head up at the cry of distress and only caught a glimpse of the demented smile on Bellatrix Lestrange's face before the entire world went dark.

**A/N: See, cliffy! I told ya! I warned ya! **


	15. All Things Present And Future

**A/N: Welcome to the last chapter of Little Steps! It's been a long and bumpy journey hasn't it? I'd like to thank every person who has encouraged me in writing this. Without you guys this story would never be done. You know who you are. **

**On a completely sour note, what the heck is up with I mean I can't put the spacer bars in anymore. The pretty lines that divide sections of story? The button isn't functioning at all! I'm ready to cry over here. Now the spacing look tacky because also doensn't allow big spaces in the story which would look better than what I resorted to (H)(S)(H)(S). Bleh! **

**Well, I hope I haven't totally mucked this up. I hope you enjoy this!  
**

Sunlight poured in through the large picture windows and bounced off the vanity mirror into his face. The pale blue walls held the shadows formed by the gossamer curtains. The sweet scent of lilacs filled the room, cloaking the anesthetic smell that came from the very sterile environment. Three single beds were arranged in a straight row, having replaced the one large king size bed. Harry groaned unintelligibly, bringing a heavy arm up over his face and covered his eyes. The light burned with more intensity then he could ever remember and something was restraining his right hand. He cracked open an eyelid and peered blearily around the room.

"Where am I?" he croaked, rubbing his eyes with his one free hand. He struggled to sit up, but a restraining hand fell on his shoulder, forcing him back down. He stared up into the burdened face of Madame Pomfrey with confusion. This most definitely wasn't the hospital wing, this was…he blinked certain he was imagining things. This was his bedroom in Godric's Hollow. He stared up at the school nurse unsure of what question to start with first.

"Mr. Potter, stay still," she ordered, hovering over him until she was certain he wasn't going anywhere. "You're in your own home as I am certain you have come to realize."

Harry stared up at the white ceiling still confused. Why was he here? Why was Madame Pomfrey here and so at home with the situation? And lastly, who was occupying or had occupied the beds on either side of him? He couldn't get a visual on either person, at least not without sitting up.

"You're awake?" A startled voice said from somewhere to the left of him. Harry looked up to see Draco looking at him with the single most amusing expression he had ever seen on the blonde boy's face. It was a mixture of shock, bewilderment, and not to mention a great deal of relief.

"Of course I'm awake. Why wouldn't I be?"

Draco stared at him oddly, his thin eyebrows furrowing with thought and his slender hand squeezed Harry's wrist tightly. He appeared to want to ask something, but he wasn't. Harry returned Draco's gaze impassively.

"You're…awake," Draco repeated slowly.

Harry nodded, wincing. His head throbbed painfully, but he wasn't sure why. He was still wondering how he got to his house in the first place along with Draco and Madame Pomfrey. He was fairly certain he had never told anyone about his home, not even Dumbledore. There was something strange about the entire situation and Harry got the distinct feeling that he was missing something huge, especially since the bedroom door opened and Pansy Parkinson of all people entered the room.

Harry pinched his arm just to make sure he was as Draco said, really awake, because there was no way he would have allowed Pansy into his home unless the world was about to end and he was feeling extra generous at the time.

"Oh, you're awake," she sneered, tossing her sleek black hair over her shoulder. Her dark eyes lighted on Draco's pensive form and she smiled coyly. "Dracie, now that he's awake you can get something to eat."

"Leave me be woman," he muttered automatically. Harry wondered how often he had said that to the girl since she didn't even flinch at his harsh tone. Instead she came forward and gently pried Draco's fingers off Harry's wrist.

"Be a good boy Dracie," she cooed, pulling him off his chair. "You must be a little hungry. You haven't left Potter's side in days now." She scented the air and pulled a disgusted face. "You also need to shower. Certainly even Potter doesn't want to have to deal with your rank scent."

It was with that remark that Harry took a good look at the blonde. Pansy had been right. He looked horrible. He wasn't even dressed in his normal wardrobe. It looked like he had raided Harry's instead. He must have as well since he knew Draco didn't own a Sex Pistols t-shirt. Harry quirked an amused eyebrow at that. He knew under no normal circumstances would Draco resort to wearing something so hideously muggle.

"Harry?" Draco queried, jerking a hand through his disastrous hair.

"I'm not going anywhere," Harry reassured, reaching for a glass of water that had appeared at his bedside table. He swallowed it down in two gulps and was pleasantly surprised when it refilled again. He was so thirsty; it felt like he hadn't had anything decent to drink in years.

Draco closed the bedroom door on the sight of Harry inhaling water like a dying man. He sunk against the wooden door, hitting his head lightly against it. No one had told him what it would be like when Harry re-awoke. They could have at least warned him. He let out a shaky breath as he pushed away from the door and made his way to the bathroom, ignoring Pansy's worried inquiries.

The white interior of the bathroom was overwhelming. It was too bright. He staggered over to the toilet and sunk to the floor, gripping the rug in his fingers, pulling it off the floor. The bastards could have at least said what spell it was that had taken him out, but no. They had to keep him in the dark and let him find out the hard way.

His stomach roiled and Draco could feel the acid burn the back of his throat, but there was nothing to spew forth. His body convulsed as he dry heaved over the bowl. Tears leaked out of the corner of his red-rimmed eyes.

Two weeks, two long agonizing weeks and they had as much as told him the night before that there was a decent chance that Harry wouldn't wake up. Well, Harry had woken up and was as cheerful as ever. It had been painful to see. It was the only reason he hadn't jerked away when Harry had been struggling to sit up.

Draco collapsed backwards, breathing heavily through his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to erase the image he had of Harry's curious innocence. It was almost too much. And… _oh sweet Merlin…_ His eyes popped open again as a new fear took him. "Severus," he whispered into the echoing bathroom.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

He had been informed that the brat had woken, but he couldn't bring himself to face the boy yet. Severus ran a hand down his long face, breathing out slowly. The grandfather clock facing opposite of him chimed indicating the half-hour. How long had he been sitting here since Poppy had delivered the news? How long had he been staring blankly at this particular page of this book? What was the book's title anyways?

The soft-covered book fell to the ground with a soft fluttering of pages as his hands began to tremble. He couldn't bring himself to bend over and retrieve it. Potter was awake. But there was something to Poppy's message that left him with a deep feeling of foreboding, something in her expression had suggested that something wasn't altogether right.

He slouched in the navy blue armchair, closing his eyes. He would wait, like he always did, till later that night to go visit Potter. It was only right. Potter wouldn't want anything to do with him now anyways. It would be better for all involved if he only went to observe the boy late at night, when no one was awake, especially when Potter himself wasn't awake.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

Hermione had enough of waiting. She wanted to know what had happened. Two weeks had passed since Professor McGonagall had gotten the firecall from Madame Pomfrey, two weeks since she had gotten any news at all about anything.

Ron was watching her tiredly as she paced the dining room, her sock covered feet slipping on the polished hardwood floor.

"Sit down," he begged, reaching out for her arm as she walked by his chair. He grabbed it tightly, halting her progress around the long table. It could easily seat 20 people comfortably, and Ron wondered why Harry needed a table that large.

Hermione bowed her head in defeat.

"Why haven't we heard anything?" she asked. "We're his best friend's!"

"I know," Ron said soothingly, pulling her down onto his lap. He kissed the side of her neck, smiling when he heard her sigh.

"Stop it," she mumbled, leaning heavily against him. Ron grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. He nipped at her jaw and felt the resulting tremor that raced through her. _Oh, this could be fun_, he thought slyly.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

Harry was almost certain he was missing something. By the end of the day he had had a grand total of three visitors and each one of them had treated him like a porcelain doll that could shatter at any second. Why didn't they understand he felt fine? He was fine, Madame Pomfrey had grudgingly told him as much. Physically he was perfectly healthy. But that didn't explain why he was being taken care of by Madame Pomfrey in the first place.

He groaned. He was bored, very, very bored and lonely. It seemed odd that he was alone at all. Normally Ron or Hermione or even Draco or Ginny occasionally would be there talking his ear off and keeping him company until they were kicked out. But Madame Pomfrey hadn't kicked them out because aside from Draco they hadn't shown up at all. Draco hadn't even come back since early that afternoon. He was worried about the blonde. He had seemed so lost when Harry had first woken up. It was driving Harry insane not knowing why everyone seemed nervous around him.

He pulled the puffy comforter up to his chin and rolled onto his side. It was only eight o'clock but he was exhausted. His eyes began to droop as he watched the second hand circle the clock.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

Draco couldn't bring himself to go visit Harry again and he felt horrible about it. He had meant to bring up some food and eat dinner with him but he couldn't do it. He couldn't go up there and pretend that everything was ok. Because everything wasn't ok.

He pressed his cheek against the cold glass, bringing his knees up to his chest. It was raining outside, thunder rumbled in the distance sending a spike of fear down Draco's spine. There was no easy way to tell how long he had been sitting on the windowsill, just staring down at the cars passing by on the ordinary muggle street below. All of them leading normal average lives, most were rushing home from a long day of work, some were going out clubbing, some were going on nice dates, but none of them knew just who lived in this house. Draco had been allowed outside just once, well, he snuck out once. He couldn't stand being locked inside any longer. He had mingled with the people walking down the busy street, not drawing much attention to himself. It had been a relief to just blend into the background and not have to think, just observe.

These muggles had no idea that over one hundred wizards now co-existed semi-peacefully in this house. They wouldn't believe it even if they were told. From the outside, Harry's house was a lowly little run down shack and inhabitable. It looked ready to collapse.

Draco breathed out slowly, his breath fogging over the window.

"Draco?"

Draco looked reluctantly at the door and saw Blaise standing there.

"What is it Zabini?" he asked, returning his attention back out the window. There was a good chance that Pansy had sent him to find Draco and tell him to eat again. The girl had been acting as if she were his mother and it was becoming more than a little irritating.

"No one has seen Professor Snape all day."

"Yes, and?" Draco snapped. Why did they always assume he knew what was going on? He wasn't an oracle. He wasn't all knowing. And he really didn't care that no one had seen Snape all day. It meant the man had found a place to hide and Draco was glad that at least someone had found a quiet place. Because he certainly hadn't been getting any peace in the past two weeks. Everyone had seemed determined to keep him busy and all he had wanted to do was be left alone to think. No one knew what had happened before the battle. Everyone just assumed he had been brooding over Harry's current state of affair and certainly he had been worried, but that wasn't the only thing he had been thinking on. He had been thinking of his father.

He had never really gotten a chance to discuss it with Harry. Because Harry was the only other person to have read the journal and it raised so many questions.

"Well, we were wondering if you knew where he was," Blaise finished.

"Do I look like I know where he is?" Draco snarled. The least they could have done was ask him a different question. It was becoming predictable to the point he was debating on writing in large red script on his forehead the word's GO AWAY.

Blaise scowled and backed out of the room with a mock bow. Draco rolled his eyes. He waited until the door was fully shut before slumping backwards. Because whether he cared to admit it or not, Blaise's obnoxious question made him worry. He wouldn't go searching for Snape unless absolutely necessary. He knew how much the man favored his privacy, but to have him locked away somewhere in the house and not having reappeared to at least yell at the masses seemed odd, even for him.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

"Damn brat," he slurred, taking another sip of Odgen's best. The bottle was almost empty and another one rested at his feet completely drained. Severus groaned as the liquid dripped down his throat. It was like heaven. Perhaps Potter had a sense of taste after all.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

"Ron," Hermione whispered, her breath hitching as Ron took this opportunity to slip a hand under her shirt. "Ron wait," she breathed, her head falling to the side as his lips attached to her pulse point. She moaned quietly, staring at ceiling.

Ron pulled off her looking at her with desire-laden blue eyes and she forgot what she had wanted to say. She snaked a hand around his neck and dragged him back down into a fierce kiss.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

Draco entered Harry's room quietly. He slipped in unnoticed by the two current occupants of the room and hovered in the doorway. Obscured in the shadows the blonde stared in wonder at the sight before him. Silhouetted in the moonlight, the shape of a man bent over the furthest bed caught Draco's hold.

"Harry, Harry snap out of it boy." The gruff but surprisingly worried command drifted across the room and Draco froze. His heartbeat picked up as he realized that Harry was in the throws of a vision. He could see the other boy's hands clenching the bed sheets, twisting and turning even as Snape held his head still. The constant stream of quiet commands to wake up, to break free continued even as Draco backed slowly out of the room having gone in complete spellbound silence.

Once outside the bedroom, he leaned against the wall heavily and sunk to the floor. One side of him wanted to run into the room and shove Snape aside and cradle the Gryffindor to him but the other was secretly cheering the two of them on. There was a chance that this vision would spark Harry's memories, he just wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

With glazed over blue eyes, Draco shakily got to his feet and headed back to his room. He needed something to distract him; and at the moment there was only one thing more thought provoking then the two people in Harry's bedroom, and that was his father's journal that was resting in the oak side table drawer by his bed.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

_Fire leapt across the barren grounds of Hogwarts encircling the castle and its occupants. Nothing stirred; the air was still and silent. Harry's heart plummeted as he glanced up at the North Tower and saw smoke powering from the high windows. No, he though desperately, scrambling to get to his feet but finding he couldn't move. NO! But no sound escaped his mouth. He gasped for air as tears blurred his vision. No…His fingers curled in the dead grass pulling it out of the ground as he violently tore it from the earth._

"_It'ssssss mine," a low hiss echoed through the night air. A short man scurried towards the voice and kneeled before a black robe. "Wormtail, you fool."_

_Wormtail flinched. "M-m-master, I didn't think he would-"_

_Voldemort sneered down at the rat and grabbed the man by the scruff of his shirt and hefted him off the ground. "I gave you specific orders."_

"_Y-yes, Master," The rat faced man squeaked, his face going pale. Harry scrambled backwards quickly, not knowing if he could be seen. He didn't want to be here anymore. His stomach protested as he tried valiantly to stand once again. The contents of his stomach spewed forth from his mouth, dribbled down his chin, and landed on the dry ground below._

_"Potter, just where do you think you're going," Voldemort taunted, turning on Harry with a malicious smirk. Harry froze paralyzed from shock and despair. How could this get worse? His gaze shifted back up to the tower with horror. Flames shot through the window, the glass from the stained glass panes falling in slow motion reflecting in the orange glow. He didn't have the chance to say anything in return before the Dark Lord rounded on his "faithful" follower in one fluid motion. "CRUCIO!"_

(H)(S)(H)(S)

"No, no," Potter whimpered, twisting in his hold, tears flowed down the pale cheeks, and dripped onto Snape's hands. Snape growled low in the back of his throat. He used to think he was a reasonably patient man but now he was half a second away from spelling the boys flailing limbs to the bed.

"NO!" And then the screaming started. Snape scowled as the thrashing increased. This was not supposed to continue happening. The potion was supposed to stop this. It was supposed to sever all ties between Potter and the Dark Lord. But obviously it only worked to a certain degree. He cupped Potter's head in his hands preventing the boy from snapping his neck and clawing at his scar.

"Harry," he barked loudly, too annoyed with the whole ordeal to care if he woke up any of the house's occupants. He grit his teeth as Potter continued to scream himself hoarse, tearing at Snape's arms because he couldn't reach his own forehead. Snape felt his bare skin begin to tear under constant attack. If Potter didn't wake up soon he would personally kill the boy in his sleep.

Then as soon as the violent writhing had started it stopped completely. Snape eyed Potter with trepidation as if he would suddenly combust without warning. He heard the boy inhale sharply and soon realized that the boy was indeed in the process of waking up. With a strange reluctance, he removed his hands from the boys face and stood up.

It was another minute though before Potter became anywhere near coherent. The boy's mouth formed unutterable words and he finally let out a tired mewl. For a brief moment, Snape thought the boy might have just fallen back asleep. He took a step forward with caution. He was about to reach out for the skinny, knobby kneed teenager when he decided to finally say something.

"Why?" Potter whined childishly, curling into a tight ball, bringing the covers with him. Snape could see he was trembling and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. If he hadn't come down here out of an odd sense of obligation then perhaps he could have bowed out gracefully, but Potter wouldn't let him move more than a few inches away from the bed before a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist loosely. Snape could easily break the feeble hold if he wanted to. A caustic remark resided on the tip of his tongue but he held it back. There was something pathetic in the tremulous question the boy had asked and he found himself answering despite his better judgment.

"'Why', what, Potter?"

Snape rolled his eyes and emitted a longsuffering sigh as the boy weakly tugged on his wrist. He perched on the edge of the twin size bed allowing Potter to cuddle into his side. If someone dared entered the room now without knocking they best have a death wish. His hand strayed to the mop of hair on the boy's head and gently he brushed it off Potter's pallid face.

"He's dead," came the miserable response. "We were supposed to defend the castle and now he's dead." Tears poured down the Gryffindor's face thick and fast as the boy sobbed brokenly into Snape's borrowed shirt. "We lost everything."

Snape's hand stilled its motions through Potter's hair. "Are you sure?"

"The tower was on fire," he croaked, his fingers curling into the cotton shirt. "He couldn't have survived it. Voldemort wouldn't have let him."

Snape tensed and then sagged in defeat. Potter was crying still but it was softer and muffled against his side. He wanted to pry further into the boy's vision and was almost tempted to invade his mind using Legilimency to get the full account. Two things, however, prevented him from doing so. One was the fact that Potter would most likely be able to tell even in his weakened state and the other was a tiny voice in the back of his mind telling him not to destroy Harry's trust now. _Harry's trust?_ Snape didn't want to think on that now. He brushed it aside as a remnant of his time in Potter's care.

"Stop your sniffling, Potter, and look at me," he commanded in soft tones. He watched as Harry's eyelids slowly reopened, revealing the bloodshot jade beneath. Snape's slender, potion stained fingers curled around the boy's chin preventing him from looking away. "You're blaming yourself."

Potter averted his eyes and opened his mouth to present incompetent excuse for an argument. "But sir, I- "

"Don't," Snape said shortly, his piercing gaze drilling the demand home. Harry looked ready to protest again but Snape swiftly cut him off. "Potter, it is not your fault. You are only one person; you cannot blame yourself for this. The world is not a just or fair place. Terrible events will occur that you will have no control over. People will get hurt and die."

The raven-haired boy lapsed into silence, his face screwed up into what Snape supposed was thought. It was time the boy revaluated his views. For one so calm during battle, so mature in most aspects it was times like this that he was forcefully reminded that Potter was in fact only a seventeen-year-old boy. He still held onto a very childish set of ideals. It astounded him that despite everything the boy had been through he still held onto his selflessness and sense of righteousness. Harry was relaxing against him and his fingers vanished from the boys chin.

"I know," he finally answered with a sleepy yawn. "I jush wisht differently."

Snape wrapped an arm around the boy's slim shoulders surprised when he didn't flinch away but instead snuggled closer. Apparently he wasn't the only one still caught in the aftermath of being in one another's company for a long period of time.

"Sleep Potter."

"G'night Sev," Harry murmured, already half-asleep again. Snape didn't get a chance to tell Harry to not call him that because the brat just fell into a deep sleep.

With a soft sigh and a good-natured grumble, Snape carefully disentangled Harry to the best of his ability and laid the boy's head on the pillow. Harry's hand still had a stranglehold on Snape's shirt and the Potion's Master gave up trying to pry the fingers off in favor of just laying beside the boy. It wouldn't hurt either of them if he stayed just a little longer.

(H)(S)(H)(S)

Draco's mouth hung open in shock as he read the line for the seventh time. He slammed the book shut with a horrified expression, the leather-bound journal slipped through his numb fingers before turning to look out the window.

"Father," he whispered roughly into the night air.

**A/N: The end! I'm grinning like a maniac right now. This is the first multi-chaptered fic I have ever finished, ever! I hope everyone enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it.  
**

**(and yes there will be a sequel I'm not that cruel. Really, I swear!)**


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